Cryosurgery in the treatment of liver cancer: a case report

Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common liver cancer and is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Its aggressiveness and extensive dissemination lead to a poor patient prognosis. The 5-year survival rate does not exceed 15 %. Despite advances in imaging techniques, its curable rate remains low, because signs and symptoms of liver cancer do not usually appear until the late stages. There is no standard curative treatment for advanced liver cancer. Description. We present the case of a 56-year-old female patient with stage T3N0M0 hepatocellular carcinoma. The patient had a tumor of 20 cm in diameter and 2400 g in weight. The patient underwent right hemihepatectomy and cryodestruction of the liver stump along the resection margin. No evidence of tumor recurrence was found with a follow-up of 12 years. Conclusion. Cryodestruction of the liver stump along the resection margin increases the potential for a higher cure rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, even in cases of extensive organ damage in the absence of metastasis and tumor ingrowth into surrounding organs.