title: Techniques and therapies for primary and metastatic liver cancer.
abstract: In summary, of the 460 patients of primary carcinoma of the liver admitted to the University Surgical Unit at the Queen Mary Hospital over a period of 12 years, more than 40% could not be treated, and only 91 of the patients were candidates for curative resection. The cure rate is very small; a 1- to 2-year survival was obtained in 46% of 15 resections. From 1964 to 1969, out of 22 patients with resections, 3 are still alive more than 5 year after the operation. Lin30 reported a 19.1% 5-year survival. When the hepatoma has ruptured and bleeding takes place, surgical treatment is obligatory to control the hemorrhage. Ninety-eight patients underwent a clinical trial of 5 categories: hepatic dearterialization, hepatic arterial cannulation and infusion of 5-FU, hepatic arterial ligation and portal venous infusion of 5-FU, radiotherapy and no treatment. The results show that the advantage of each form of treatment when compared with no treatment is marginal. Thus a gloomy picture of primary hepatoma is held. Since the operative mortality of hepatic resection for a solitary secondary carcinoma of the liver is negligible, it should be done in each instance because a long-term survival may be possible. This is especially true with primary carcinoma of the colon.
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010166:Palliative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous / Q000601:surgery; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous