BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the major malignant diseases in the world today. Due to the high incidence and difficult prognosis, preventive measures became an important need taking into consideration that its etiology is strictly connected with environmental factors. The main risk factors are the association of hepatocellular carcinoma with chronic hepatitis B and C virus infections and cirrhosis, whatever its cause. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the fifth most common global cancer, representing 85% of the hepatic primary tumors and it is responsible for nearly two thirds of deaths caused by cancer. METHOD: Review of the national and international literature in the last 12 years (1997-2009), of 25 articles researched through the electronic databases MedLine, Scielo and Lilacs. CONCLUSION: Despite of the medical advances and the implementation of precocious measures to detect the hepatocellular carcinoma in patients considered as within risk groups, there was no improvement on the afterlife over the last three decades. The cause that can explain this reality is the absence of symptoms during the early stages of the disease, and by the time the patient looks for medical help, the tumor has frequently reached an advanced stage and the therapeutical options are already too few.
Hepatocellular, carcinoma; Prevention; Control; risk factors