Hepatocellular Carcinoma as a Social and Medical Problem in the Russian Federation

The prevalence of risk factors for HCC in the Russian population is reflected in a significant potential growth in morbidity. In the absence of active screening programs in the Russian Federation, mortality from liver cancer in risk groups and late diagnosis groups significantly exceeds the growing morbidity. Cancer care for HCC patients in the Russian Federation is at an early stage of development and is represented by several clinical centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several regions. In the absence of approved standards for diagnosis and treatment of HCC, surgical treatment of early stage diseases is primarily carried out; some clinics have experience of interventional radiology procedures for the locally advanced process and pharmaceutical therapy. Fast and significant reduction in mortality is possible with an overall introduction of a multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC, based on extensive intra- and inter-hospital cooperation between different specialists – surgeons, transplantologists, interventional radiologists, chemotherapeutists, hepatologists, diagnosticians at all stages of the development of cancer.