Abstract
Twenty-eight dogs with massive hepatocellular carcinomas were surgically treated, and are reviewed here. Twenty-two dogs (78.6%) showed non-specific clinical signs, and the others were asymptomatic. In biochemical analysis, activity of aminotransferase was high in all 28 dogs (100%), and alkaline phosphatase was high in 27 dogs (96.4%). Preoperative computed tomography was very useful for identification of an afflicted liver lobe, and for surgical simulation. Complete lobectomy of diseased liver lobes was performed in almost all cases. The operation resulted in three perioperative deaths (10.7% perioperative mortality), and 25 long-term survivals. The median survival time was 1,431 days (range, 0 to 2,567 days). Of the survival cases, recurrence or metastasis was found only in 4 cases (16%), where the high preoperative value of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) tended to fall after surgery, but tended to rise again when the disease recurred. In conclusion, surgical resection is a good choice for treatment, since the majority of dogs with massive hepatocellular carcinomas recovered completely after the resection. In addition, AFP might be useful for monitoring postoperative recurrence.
