Application of stereotactic body radiotherapy in small hepatocellular carcinoma

At present, hepatic resection (HR) and radiofrequency ablation of (RFA) are the main radical treatment methods for small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC), while stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is developing rapidly and there is an increasing number of reports on the effective treatment of sHCC with SBRT. This article introduces the technical advantages, therapeutic dose, and fractionation scheme of SBRT in the treatment of sHCC, as well as the limit of normal liver tissue and the protection of surrounding organs at risk. This article also compares the efficacy of SBRT versus HR and RFA in the treatment of sHCC and briefly describes the adverse reactions of SBRT in the treatment of sHCC. Previous studies have shown that for some sHCC cases, SBRT has an equal or even better clinical effect than HR and RFA, with controllable toxicity. Therefore, SBRT is expected to become another radical treatment method for sHCC.