Postoperative interferon-alpha therapy appears to decrease recurrence after resection of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

As a countermeasure to portal tumor thrombi, which are a serious danger in liver cancer, we did portal vein embolization (PVE) during percutaneous transhepatic portography. Our 21 patients later underwent hepatic resection. After PVE, portal pressure increased and there was slight liver function damage, but this procedure was safer than transarterial embolization (TAE). We examined the pathologic specimens to view the state of occlusion achieved and also for histological findings, and found that Lipiodol | mixed with fibrin was most effective. PVE done before hepatic resection strengthened the anticancer effect of TAE, prevented intrahepatic metastases, and caused permanent hypertrophy of the liver that may be useful as a kind of preparation for surgery.Recently in Japan, small hepatocellular carcinomas have been diagnosed more frequently because of regular measurements of serum alpha-fetoprotein levels in high-risk patients and also improvements in medical imaging. However, even small tumors often give rise to a tumor thrombus in the portal vein [1]. The prognosis is worsened by this complication. Even hepatic transarterial embolization (TAE) [2], which is effective against liver cancer, has almost no effect on tumor thrombi [3]. Since thrombi present such dangers in liver cancer, countermeasures are essential if the prognosis is to be improved. We devised a method using percutane-

Postoperative interferon therapy seems to improve the outcome after resection of HCV-related HCC.

VATS provides comparable results to open radical oesophagectomy, with less surgical trauma.