The strategies for treating primary hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus

•The current consensus is that the portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is difficult to treat and the prognosis is poor.•This paper comprehensively introduces the strategies for treating primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with PVTT.•Based on the type of PVTT, the comprehensive treatment scheme of multidisciplinary and multiple methods should be taken.