[Hepatic resections in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma]

Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma has become multidisciplinary. Liver resection, when technically feasible, remains the procedure of choice for non cirrhotic patients. On the contrary, its indications are decreasing for cirrhotics with the emergence of interventional therapies and since selected patients with small tumors and sufficient life-expectancy have become candidates to liver transplantation. Better results have to be obtained by adjuvant therapies in order to decrease the propension of the hepatocellular carcinoma to recur inside the liver. Intraarterial injection of lipiodol iodine-131 seems to give encouraging results in reducing the local recurrence rate after liver resection.