Primary liver cancer in a referral hospital in Hawaii

This is a retrospective review of 43 patients who had primary liver cancer diagnosed during 1974-1983. Patients' ages ranged from 27 to 84 years (median 52.5). Nine of 39 patients with hepatoma were females, while two of the four patients with cholangiocarcinoma were women. Hepatitis surface antigen was positive in 90% tested, and 62% had cirrhosis. Also, 60-65% were heavy users of alcohol and cigarettes. Alpha-fetoprotein was elevated in one of four white patients, and in six of eight patients of other races (75%). Tissue diagnosis was obtained by peritoneoscopy in 16, by percutaneous biopsy in 7, by laparotomy in 9, and at autopsy in 11. Only one of 11 patients who were explored has his lesion resected. About half of the cases diagnosed antemortem died 1 month or less after diagnosis. The median survival of hepatoma patients who had no specific treatment or systemic chemotherapy was 2 months. Two patients who received chemotherapy in conjunction with occlusion of the hepatic artery lived 16 to 19 months.