Hepatoblastoma - is a rare, malignant (cancerous) tumor that starts in the tissues of the liver and is the most common form of childhood liver cancer. It mostly affects infants and young children under the age of 3
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare childhood liver cancer. It is an aggressive liver tumor that typically affects older children and adolescents.
Key diagnosis terms
AFP (alpha-fetoprotein): A blood tumor marker, elevated in most cases. It's used for diagnosis and for tracking response to treatment.
PRETEXT staging: Imaging-based system that divides the liver into four sections and records how many are tumor-free. It guides surgical planning.
Annotation factors (V, P, E, F, R, C, N, M): Add-on labels to PRETEXT describing vascular involvement, portal vein involvement, extrahepatic spread, multifocality, rupture, caudate involvement, lymph nodes, and distant metastasis.
Risk group (very low, low, intermediate, high): Based on stage, AFP level, histology, and spread. It determines treatment intensity.
Biopsy- Tissue sample confirming the diagnosis and identifying the histologic subtype (e.g., fetal, embryonal, small cell undifferentiated).
Imaging (ultrasound, CT, MRI): Show tumor size and location and whether it involves major vessels.
Key treatment terms
Liver resection- Removal of the part of the liver containing the tumor. The liver can regenerate.
Liver transplant: A liver transplant for a child is a surgical procedure that involves removing a diseased or malfunctioning liver and replacing it with a healthy liver from a donor.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs in a standard regimen.
Chemotherapy often used during treatment- Cisplatin, Doxorubicin, Carboplatin, Vincristine
Sodium thiosulfate: Sometimes given with cisplatin to reduce hearing loss, a common side effect.
Immunotherapy: The prevention or treatment of disease with substances that stimulate the immune response.
CAR T-cell (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy - a personalized type of immunotherapy and gene therapy that reprograms a patient's own immune cells to find and destroy cancer cells
NED (No Evidence of Disease): This indicates that the signs and symptoms of cancer are no longer present. However, it is possible that cancer cells may continue to exist in the body at a level which current testing methods cannot detect. This term means the same thing as Complete Remission.
