[Multidisciplinary treatment of unresectable liver cancer]

From January 1984 to December 1987, 63 unresectable liver cancers (22 hepatocellular carcinoma and 41 metastatic liver cancer) were treated with multidisciplinary therapy: partial resection of liver, hepatic arterial infusion, coagulation therapy using microwave tissue coagulator and intratumoral injection of the liver. The median survival period was 5-7 months, and the clinical response rate was 21.6% in these therapies, but there was no statistically significant difference between the treatments. Recently, we usually use degradable starch microspheres (DSM) with anticancer agents in hepatic arterial infusion. Adriamycin + DSM was administered for hepatocellular carcinoma, and Mitomycin C + DSM was used for metastatic liver cancer. The regimens were used for 12 cases, 6 of hepatocellular carcinoma and 6 of metastatic liver cancer, with a response rate of 50%, respectively. We also undertook chemosensitivity tests for liver cancer. The coincidence of clinical response with results of chemosensitivity tests was above 50%. In future, we shall use the most effective anticancer agents for individual tumors with DSM in arterial infusion.