Primary carcinoma of the liver: Improvement in sight?

A retrospective analysis of 99 histologically verified primary liver carcinomas seen at the Department of Surgery, University of Lund, from 1965 to 1978 has been performed. The material is comparable to other studies with regard to age and sex distribution and occurrence of cirrhosis. The common presenting symptoms were abdominal discomfort and weight loss. During 1965–1970, most diagnoses were made at laparotomy or at autopsy. There was a low incidence of resectability and a short mean survival rate. In the latter half of the study, 1971–1978, wider use of thin needle biopsy, angiography and liver scan has contributed to more accurate preoperative diagnoses in this group. Diagnoses seemed also to be made at an earlier stage of the disease in this group, which led to a higher resectability. This, in combination with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, may have contributed to the favorable results, with more than half of the patients alive 24 months after resection.