title: Palliative techniques for hepatic cancer.
abstract: Primary and secondary hepatic malignancies are a leading cause of death. Only a minority of patients with liver cancer are candidates for curative surgical resection. Palliative treatments for unresectable hepatic malignancies should minimize tumor-related symptoms and extend overall survival. Systemic chemotherapy is only modestly effective at both ameliorating symptoms and improving survival. This review focuses on the liver-directed therapy options for patients with advanced unresectable liver malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis; D019452:Terminally Ill; D016896:Treatment Outcome