[Hepatocellular carcinoma: percutaneous ethanol injection/transarterial chemoembolization/radiofrequency thermoablation].

In the majority of patients hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with liver cirrhosis. Advanced or decompensated liver cirrhosis, comorbidity and multicentricity make 70-80% of HCCs inoperable at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) and radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFTA) are non-surgical therapeutic options for patients with small HCCs. In patients with advanced tumor stage transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and its variants showed no survival benefit on the basis of randomized trials. In several studies, however, combined treatment strategies like TACE and PEI or RFTA after occlusion of tumor blood supply in the treatment of advanced HCC seems to result in a survival benefit. All HCC patients should be included in randomized treatment studies.