The reasonable choice of hepatectomy for liver cancer

Objective To review the research progress of hepatectomy for liver cancer. Methods To retrieve the related literatures about the progress on reasonable choice of hepatectomy for liver cancer in PubMed and Wanfang databases by the key words of " liver cancer" and " hepatectomy" from Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2015, and then analyze and summarize the recent research progress at home and abroad. Results Hepatectomy is one of the most effective therapies for live cancer. Preoperative detailed assessment should be carried out on the liver function of the residual. But the clinical selection of proper liver resection remains controversial. The disputes of liver resection are mainly concentrated on the patients with solitary large tumors, multiple tumors and liver cancer with portal vein tumor thrombus as well as cirrhosis. These controversies on the choice of surgical procedure for liver cancer may have significant impact on the efficacy of patients. Conclusions Comprehensive preoperative evaluation, individualized treatment selection of rational operation and liver resection based on liver segment are essential for improving patients' survival rate. Key words: Liver neoplasms; Hepatectomy; Reasonable choice