[Primary liver and bile duct tumors: approach to conservative therapy]

In case of non-resectable primary liver cancer the following treatment modalities can be applied: ligation, embolization or balloon occlusion of the hepatic artery, locoregional chemotherapy, percutaneous ethanol or acetic acid injection, microwave application, and cryotherapy, as well as combined therapeutic modalities. The 3-year survival rates for patients with small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) are comparable for the different procedures (resection, ethanol- or acetic acid injection, cryotherapy, microwave application) and range between 60-80%. In patients with larger HCCs the prognosis seems to be improved by a combination treatment of chemoembolization and ethanol injection compared to chemoembolization alone.