6533b857fe1ef96bd12b4cde

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Surgical therapy of liver cancer: resection and transplantation

subject

description

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and is estimated to cause approximately half a million deaths per year. Most tumours (80%) develop in cirrhotic livers caused by viral hepatitis C or B and alcoholic liver disease. In the natural course survival depends on the stage of the disease. At an early stage 3-year survival is 65% without treatment, in the intermediate stage between 10% and 50% of patients are reported to be alive after 2 years, and in the final stage median survival only rarely exceeds 6 months. Surgical treatment is capable of doubling survival. The results of local ablative treatment in early carcinoma are very similar to surgical treatment1. Patients with final stage disease are usually not amenable to any form of treatment.