Significance of glucose tolerance as prognostic sign in hepatectomized patients.

Glucose tolerance was determined in fourteen patients with cancer of the liver. The patients with parabolic GTT patterns fared relatively better than did those with linear GTT patterns. In the patients with successful extended right hepatectomy, gradually increasing and long-standing hyperglycemia (linear GTT pattern) in response to an oral glucose load was not observed after hepatectomy and the insulin response was significantly greater than that in controls. However, in the patient with unsuccessful extended right hepatectomy, the linear GTT pattern continued for a more prolonged period after hepatectomy.