[Recurrence and treatment of primary liver cancer after radical hepatectomy].

From Jan. 1961 to Dec. 1988, 188 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had radical resection. AFP concentration of all patients turned negative after the operation or was originally negative. By the end of August 1989, 85 patients had cancer recurrence after surgery with a median of 18 months (1-106 months). Recurrence happened mostly in the first and second year postoperation. The cumulative recurrence was 35.8% in one year, 62.4% in two years, and 95.3% in 5 years. Serial measurement of serum AFP and ultrasonography were found useful for early detection of cancer recurrence. For the patients with cancer recurrence, reoperation was the treatment of choice, and 49.4% of them underwent the second resection, with normal AFP concentrations in 58.6% of the patients after surgery. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 50%, 27.3%, and 23.5% after the second resection, respectively. Chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy was effective to prolong the recurrence-free survival time after the primary resection.