Even Patients with Inoperable Liver Cancer See Improved Survival Rates... Emerging New Role of 'Radiation Therapy'

Samsung Seoul Hospital Liver Cancer Center Proves Effectiveness of Liver Cancer Radiotherapy
Survival Rate of Radiotherapy Patients Increases from 5% to 30.1%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Radiation therapy has emerged as a new key player in improving the survival rates of liver cancer patients. It is being recognized as a solid alternative for patients who are difficult to operate on, changing the paradigm of liver cancer treatment.

Professor Park Hee-chul and Professor Yoo Jung-il from the Department of Radiation Oncology, along with Professors Choi Moon-seok and Shin Dong-hyun from the Department of Gastroenterology at Samsung Medical Center Liver Cancer Center, announced in the recent issue of the international academic journal in cancer treatment, 'Frontiers in Oncology,' on the changes and advancements in radiation oncology driven by a multidisciplinary approach in the field of liver cancer on the 5th.

The research team analyzed 9,312 patients diagnosed with liver cancer from 2005 to 2017 based on the 'Samsung Medical Center Hepatocellular Carcinoma Registry.' Among all liver cancer patients, 2,445 patients (26.8%) received radiation therapy at least once, and 469 patients received radiation therapy as an initial treatment.

Analysis of those who received radiation therapy as an initial treatment showed that while only 0.5% of diagnosed patients received it in 2005, this sharply increased to 13% in 2017. Thanks to technological advancements such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and proton therapy, radiation therapy has become more precise, allowing its application even to patients who were previously difficult to treat.

Improvements in survival rates were also remarkable. The 5-year survival rate for patients registered in 2005 who received radiation therapy as the first treatment was only 5%, but it increased to 30.1% for patients registered in 2017.

The survival rate gap between patients who received radiation therapy as the first treatment and those who did not also narrowed. The expected survival rate for patients who received radiation therapy as the first treatment was about 38% in 2005, but it reached 54% in 2017. Treatment outcomes have improved in line with the rapid advancement of radiation therapy.

The academic community’s recognition of the advancement of radiation therapy has also led to changes in its status, including its inclusion in guidelines. According to this year’s Korean Liver Cancer Association-National Cancer Center guidelines, radiation therapy including proton therapy is recommended as a secondary option for liver cancer patients for whom curative treatment is difficult. Recently, studies have shown that combining radiation therapy with transarterial chemoembolization in locally advanced liver cancer results in higher survival rates than the existing standard chemotherapy, and various attempts to improve patient prognosis continue, indicating a bright outlook.

Professor Park said, “While the active application of proton therapy and radiation therapy is important, the improvement in liver cancer treatment outcomes at Samsung Medical Center is thanks to the dedicated efforts of many multidisciplinary faculty members and advancements in treatment methods and drugs,” adding, “We will continue to devote ourselves to providing the optimal proton therapy and radiation therapy as the most suitable ‘personalized treatment’ for liver cancer patients.”

Since 2016, Samsung Medical Center has been performing proton therapy for liver cancer, currently treating more than 50% of patients whose cancer cells remain within the liver tissue with proton therapy. The number of patients receiving proton therapy for liver cancer has exceeded 300 (as of 2020).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.