Guideline on the use of new anticancer drugs for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma 2010 update.

The "Guideline on the Use of New Anticancer Drugs for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma" was prepared by the Study Group on New Liver Cancer Therapies established by the "Research Project on Emergency Measures to Overcome Hepatitis" under the auspices of the Health and Labour Sciences Research Grant. The Guideline brings together data collected by the Study Group on the use and incidence of adverse events in 264 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated using sorafenib and in 535 patients with advanced HCC treated using miriplatin at 16 participating institutions up until 22 December 2010, as well as referring to the published studies, academic presentations, and reports from the private sector. The aim of this Guideline is to facilitate understanding and current thinking regarding the proper usage of new anticancer drugs towards actual use in therapy. In terms of the format, the Guideline presents "clinical questions" on issues pertaining to medical care, makes "recommendations" on diagnosis and treatment in response to each of these clinical questions, and provides a rationale for these recommendations in the form of "scientific statements".