Impact of delayed time from diagnosis to treatment on the stage of hepatocellular carcinoma

To the Editor:We read with interest of the article by Dr.Lim et al.[1].The authors concluded that a delay of≥3 months from diagnosis to treatment in patients with Barcelona clinic liver cancer(BCLC)0-A st age hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)does not affect long-term outcomes after curative resection compared with those with a delay of<3 months.Undoubtedly,this is a challenging viewpoint,which is contrary to traditional concept– the sooner the tumor removal,the better the oncologic prognosis.Herein,we would like to raise the following comments.