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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and it is well accepted that the poor outcome of HCC patients among others is caused by metastasis and tumor cell dissemination. Early tumor recurrence due to intrahepatic micro-metastases predominantly occurs in early phases of hepatocarcinogenesis (often within the first 2 years after treatment), whereas new primary lesions are observed after longer periods (1). Importantly, metastasis is mainly detectable within the diseased liver itself, with new tumors invading into the portal vein (2).