The changing role of surgery in the treatment of primary liver cancer.

For decades, the role of surgery in the treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC) was important but limited. However, a comparison of pathologically proven PLC during the three periods 1958-1966, 1967-1975, and 1976-1984 revealed that as a result of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) serosurvey, changing concepts in surgical oncology, and introduction of new surgical modalities, the role of surgery has become greater. The increasing proportion of subclinical PLC (0, 7.2, and 21.2%) has favored the increasing series resection rate (16.1, 34.7, and 39.6%) and palliative surgery (13.7, 17.0, and 29.8%). The results indicated that early resection, reoperation for subclinical recurrence, resection of huge PLC in stages, and combination of palliative surgery other than resection might be responsible for the increasing 5-year survival rate (1.7, 7.1, and 19.5%) in the entire series.