Electrochemical therapy for intermediate and advanced liver cancer: a report of 50 cases.

Fifty cases of primary liver cancer were treated by electrochemical therapy (ECT). Tumour size ranged from 3.5 to 21.0 cm. ECT was performed by administration of 6-10 V, 50-100 mA and an electric quantity of 300-1000 C. Duration of treatment was one and a half to four hours. There was an inverse relationship between tumour size and curative effect. There was no death within three months of treatment. Six- and 12-month survival was 88% and 69%, respectively. In conclusion, ECT is an effective treatment which prolongs the patients' life. We have found the method to be of practical value in the management of liver cancers in the intermediate or advanced stage.

[Radical total gastrectomy and improved operation in gastric cancer].

1089 patients with gastric cancer resected from 1979-1986 are analysed. Of 1089 patients, 105 underwent total gastrectomy, including 55 by routine method as control and 50 by improved method as study group. The improved total gastrectomy was to take the jejunum instead of a gastric pouch for reconstruction of alimentary tract. End-to-side anastomosis was carried out by stapling devise, forming a reversed "7" gastric substitute and ensuring blood supply as well as physiologic patency and less postoperative complications. This technique is simple and easy to be adopted. The incidence of complication was 9% without operative mortality in this series. The 5-year survival rate was 35.75%.

Photodynamic therapy with hematoporphyrin derivative in the treatment of superficial transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Photodynamic therapy involves light-induced destruction of tumors containing a photosensitizer such as hematoporphyrin derivative. We conducted a collaborative study to evaluate the efficacy of this form of therapy in treating superficial transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder. Thirty-seven patients were evaluated and 20 were selected for treatment. A total of 50 papillary tumors and 3 areas of carcinoma in situ were treated. All except two tumors were smaller than 2.5 cm. Assessments for treatment response and toxicity were carried out three months after treatment. The initial diagnosis of one patient was revised after the biopsy material was reviewed, and this patient was not included in the analysis. Complete eradication of all tumors was observed in 9 of 19 patients (47 percent), including those with carcinoma in situ. In the remaining 10 of these 19 patients, 13 tumors could not be eradicated (the overall eradication rate was 37 of 50 tumors [74 percent]), but 9 of the 10 patients had a reduction in tumor size, number, or both of 50 percent or more. We conclude that photodynamic therapy is useful in the treatment of superficial transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder, but controlled trials will be required to define its place in the treatment of cancer.