Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers to recur after surgery, especially if the cancer is visible in the microvasculature after surgery.The results of a clinical study aimed at lowering the risk of recurrence in these patients were recently reported.

In a study that enrolled 315 patients from five centers in China, half received chemotherapy via the hepatic artery and half received observation if cancer remained in the microvasculature after surgery for liver cancer. The results showed that patients who received chemotherapy via the hepatic artery remained recurrence-free longer than those who received observation (20.3 months vs. 10.0 months), a statistically significant difference, meaning that hepatic artery chemotherapy lowered the risk of recurrence by about 41% compared to observation. When patients were followed for three years, 40.1% of those who received chemotherapy recurred compared to 55.7% of those in the watchful waiting group.

Although there are limitations, such as the difficulty of having a catheter in place for chemotherapy for two or three days, and the fact that the study did not show a difference in overall survival, it is encouraging to see that treatments are being developed that can improve the chances of curing liver cancer.