Chemoprevention for hepatocellular carcinoma: the role of statins

In oncology, cancer prevention may be categorized as primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention refers to the identification of genetic, biologic, and environmental factors that play an etiologic or pathogenetic role, in order to impair their effects on tumor development and halt progression of cancer and ultimately death. The objective of primary prevention is to prohibit or to halt effective contact of a carcinogenic agent with a susceptible target in the human body. Secondary prevention refers to identification of existing pre-neoplastic and early neoplastic lesions in order to treat them thoroughly and expeditiously. Since the stage of cancer dictates the therapeutic choice, early detection is a primary objective. The goal of cancer screening is to reduce mortality through a reduction in incidence of advanced disease. Tertiary prevention refers to preventing recurrence in patients cured of an initial cancer (1).