Systemic chemotherapy of liver tumors

Abstract

Primary and secondary liver tumors have a reputation for being resistant to chemotherapy and, in the absence of surgical resection, rapidly fatal. Until recently, such a reputation was well justified: response rates above 20% were not seen, and complete responses were distinctly rare. Over the past 5 years, the mood of those in the field has become rather more optimistic and a pattern of effective therapy is emerging. This involves combination therapy in patients with unresectable disease to increase the operative rates, and postoperative adjuvant therapy to decrease the high relapse rate which is so characteristic of both primary and secondary liver tumors. In the case of hepatocellular carcinoma, the combination therapy involves cytotoxic drugs and interferon. With secondary colorectal cancer (CRC), the combination of 5-fluorouracil (FU) and leucovorin, together with one of the new cytotoxic agents such as oxaliplatin or irenotecan, is producing much higher response rates and prolonged survival, and permitting a higher resection rate. Postoperative treatment is also showing promise in decreasing the relapse rate. With CRC metastatic to the liver, this involves hepatic artery infusion (HAI), systemic 5-FU, and leucovorin. Adjuvant systemic therapy of HCC has not yet been widely tested, but success with locoregional lipiodol iodine131 is proof of principle. The coming decade should see a significant improvement in the outlook of patients with malignant liver tumors as multimodality treatment becomes more widely investigated and practiced.