Systemic complications and management strategies in liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy

Table 1 Risks and benefits of liver cancer treatments

Treatment	Benefits	Risks	Indications	Contraindications
TACE	Minimally invasive, effective for large or unresectable tumors, improves survival rates	Renal dysfunction, ischemic events, bleeding, thrombosis, embolization-related complications	Unresectable HCC, large tumors, portal vein thrombosis	Severe hepatic dysfunction, portal vein thrombosis, poor renal function
Radiofrequency ablation	Less invasive, useful for small tumors, quick recovery, fewer complications	Hepatic bleeding, bile duct injury, less effective for larger tumors or tumors near vital structures	Small, localized tumors, tumors in safe areas for ablation	Large tumors, tumors near critical structures (bile duct, major vessels)
Systemic chemotherapy	Targets cancer cells directly, reduces tumor size, can be combined with other therapies	Hematological toxicity, nausea, infection risk, limited efficacy for advanced-stage cancers	Advanced HCC, patients with distant metastasis, combination with other therapies	Severe hepatic impairment, poor general health, bone marrow suppression
Sorafenib	Targets VEGF, inhibits tumor angiogenesis, reduces tumor growth and metastasis	Cardiovascular complications (hypertension, heart failure), gastrointestinal bleeding, thrombosis	Advanced HCC with vascular invasion, combination therapy with TACE	Pre-existing cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, severe bleeding risks
Immunotherapy	Stimulates immune system to target cancer cells, effective for advanced cancers	Autoimmune-related adverse events, organ-specific toxicity, cytokine release syndrome	Advanced HCC, patients unresponsive to traditional therapies	Autoimmune conditions, severe organ dysfunction, immunosuppressive therapy contraindications

TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor.