[Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with esophageal varices]

This report describes 53 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with esophageal varices. Esophageal varices were due to cirrhosis of the liver in all cases. Hepatic resection and blocking operations such as Sugiura procedure, transabdominal esophageal transection or Hassab's operation were performed for the treatment of HCC and esophageal varices in 6 cases with satisfactory results. Non-operative treatments such as TAE or arterial infusion chemotherapy for HCC and blocking operations for esophageal varices were performed in 17 cases. Late deaths were recognized in 10 cases. Causes of late deaths were carcinoma of the liver in 7 cases and ruptured varices in only 1 case. In 13 cases with severe hepatic failure, only endoscopic sclerotherapy was performed for the treatment of esophageal varices. However 8 cases of 13 had rebleeding from esophageal varices and died after sclerotherapy. We concluded that effective treatments for HCC complicated with esophageal varices were to perform both the hepatic resection and the blocking operation and these treatments prolong the long-term survival of patients with HCC with esophageal varices.