Alternative interventional multimodality therapies for the management of liver malignancies

Primary and secondary liver tumors are highly malignant with a very high morbidity and mortality. Although surgical resection is generally accepted as the mainstay of treatment, only a small number of patients are suitable for curative resection. Interventional multimodality therapies provide an alternative to liver resection with minimal morbidity and mortality and quite promising outcomes. These include transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), percutaneous ethanol (PEI) or other injection techniques, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave coagulation therapy (MCT), cryoablation and interstitial laser photocoagulation (ILP). Techniques, indications and outcomes are discussed.