Only one third of primary hepatic carcinomas and in particular hepatocellular carcinomas are amenable to liver resection. Approximately half of these patients develop tumor recurrences within the first two years accounting for the poor prognosis of this condition. The liver is the site of first failure in about 80 percent of patients. Secondary liver surgery for intrahepatic recurrence is technically possible in about one third of the patients at low operative mortality (< 5 percent). Long-term prognosis following potentially curative liver reresection for hepatosellular carwinoma compares favourably (5-year survival approximately 50 percent) with the prognosis after resection of the primary tumor. For potentially curative treatment liver transplantation is the only alternative to hepatic reresection, while alcohol injection and chemoembolization are merely palliative procedures. II) Liver resection represents the only potentially curative form of treatment for hepatic metastases from collorectal cancer. Operative mortality is generally less than 5 percent and 5-year survival of 20-40 percent can be expected. Secondary hepatic recurrences following hepatic resection of colorectal metastases are amenable to reresection in approximately 10 percent of patients. Selection criteria for reresection are the same as for primary liver reresection. Median survival following secondary liver resection is 32 months and this is identical to the median survival after the first liver resection for colorectal metastases.
