CRYOTHERAPY FOR PRIMARY LIVER-CANCER

Between November 1973 and December 1996, the in situ freezing of tumor , i.e., cryotherapy, was performed with liquid nitrogen (-196 degrees C) on 235 patients with primary liver cancer (PLC). There were no oper ative mortalities or severe complications. The 5-year survival was 39. 8% for the 235 PLC patients, and 55.4% for the 80 patients with small PLC (less than or equal to 5 cm). When analyzed with respect to treatm ent modalities without considering the size of the tumor, the 5-year s urvival was 26.9% for 78 PLC patients treated by cryotherapy alone; 39 .6% for 58 PLC patients treated by cryotherapy plus hepatic artery lig ation and perfusion; 46.0% for 27 PLC patients treated by cryotherapy for residual tumor plus resection of the main tumor; and 60.4% for 72 PLC patients treated by cryotherapy followed by resection of the froze n tumor. These results indicate that cryotherapy is a safe and effecti ve treatment for PLC. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.