[Regional therapy to prevent recurrence after surgery in hepatocellular carcinoma]

The significance of regional therapy to prevent recurrence after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was evaluated. In 275 patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC, 143 (52%) had recurrences. Post-recurrence survival of the patients with regional therapy for recurrent foci was significantly better than that of patients without such therapy. Five-year post-recurrence survival of the patients treated with second surgery (77%) was significantly better than that of patients treated with chemoembolization (17%). The difference in 5-year survival between the former and the latter seemed to be caused by the difference in the degree of tumor progression at the recurrence. A second hepatic resection was the treatment of choice for a solitary intrahepatic recurrent tumor. However, chemoembolization was recommended for two or more recurrent foci.