Integrating systemic therapy in the earlier stages of liver cancer.

Integrating systemic therapy at earlier stages of liver cancer shows promising but uncertain benefits, with data supporting combination approaches in hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancers.

• Why it matters: Early integration of systemic treatments could improve outcomes for liver cancer patients, but designing trials and selecting endpoints remains challenging, creating a gap in evidence for standard practice.
• What they did: The review discusses trial design challenges, available data on intra-arterial and systemic treatments in hepatocellular carcinoma, and recent developments in adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies for both HCC and biliary tract cancers, based on current studies.
• The result: While promising data suggest potential benefits of early systemic therapy, uncertainties persist about whether these strategies will become standard care, highlighting the need for further research.