VALUE OF PERCUTANEOUS ETHANOL INJECTION I N THE TREATMENT OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA IN A CIRRHOTIC LIVER

Percutaneous ethanol injection treatment, introduced ten years ago as palliative therapy for patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcino ma, can now be used with a curative intent to treat small tumours with results comparable to surgical resection. This progress, made possibl e by sophisticated radiological techniques, makes percutaneous ethanol injection the treatment of choice for patients with poor liver functi on iii whom resection is not possible and local control of the disease is desirable either for prolonged palliation or in view of liver tran splantation. For patients with large tumours, or in case of recurrence after previous surgical treatment, a therapeutic approach combining t ransarterial lipiodol chemoembolisation and percutaneous ethanol injec tion has shown promising results and deserves further investigation.