Current surgical management of liver tumors

It is evident that liver resection by the general medical community for hepatic malignancies is being underutilized and that its curative potential is underestimated. Despite advancements in the critical care management and surgical techniques used with hepatic resection, the long-term survival after resection of primary and secondary liver malignancies remains poor. The results of resective treatment for hepatoma and metastatic colorectal cancer are discussed and recent results are compared with previously accepted norms and survival data. Careful selection and particular attention to the presence or absence of cirrhosis in guiding decisions regarding resection will lead to optimum results. Liver resection remains the fundamental choice for curative resection of most hepatic malignancies. However, the overall poor results provide a powerful clinical and biological argument for pursuing various regional and interstitial treatment alternatives to resection.