Clinical evaluation of palliative therapy for unresectable primary liver cancer.

Ninety-nine patients with unresectable primary liver cancer were treated with ligation of the hepatic artery (LHA), intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy (IAIC) or transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) between 1960 and 1983. A statistical study was made of therapeutic effects and prognosis. The results are as follows: The mean survival time of 14 patients treated with LHA was about 5 months. The survival time of the LHA + IAIC with mitomycin C group was not prolonged as compared with that of the LHA group, but LHA + IAIC with Adriamycin (doxorubicin) group showed a significant prolongation of survival time over the LHA group. In the LHA + IAIC with Adriamycin group, the mean survival time was 12.8 months and the 1-year survival rate was 37.5%. Factors including age, presence of liver cirrhosis, number of involved segments, and degree of anaplasia graded on Edmondson's criteria did not influence survival time.