摘要
Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is one of the leading causes of cancer death in Japan, ranked 3^rd in males and 5^th in females. Thanks to recent progress, there are several definitive treatment modalities available for HCC, including surgery （liver resection and transplantation）, ablation therapy, and transarterial chemoembolization （TACE）. It is fortunate for both patients and doctors to have multiple treatment options, however, there have been very few evidence-based guidelines for decision-making. Sup- ported by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, we have compiled the ＂Clinical practice guidelines for hepatocellular carcinoma＂. This set of guidelines covers 6 fields for HCC, including prevention, diagnosis and surveillance, surgery, chemotherapy, TACE, and ablation therapy. We have surveyed 7192 publications on HCC extracted mainly from MEDLINE （1966-2002）, and selected 334 articles to form 58 pairs of research questions and recommendations. For convenience in practical use, we have also created algorithms for the surveillance and treatment of HCC.
TO THE EDITORHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leadingcauses of cancer death in Japan, ranked 3^(rd) in males and5^(th) in females. Thanks to recent progress, there are severaldefinitive treatment modalities available for HCC, includ-ing surgery (liver resection and transplantation), ablationtherapy, and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Itis fortunate for both patients and doctors to have multipletreatment options, however, there have been very
