The care of patients with malignant tumors has changed substantially in recent years. New chemotherapeutic agents have led to substantial prolongation of survival in patients with liver metastases. Advances in surgery and anesthesia have enabled the resection of tumors with much lower morbidity and mortality. Diagnostic imaging techniques have facilitated earlier detection and more detailed follow-up of patients with liver tumors. However, the most exciting advances have been in the field of interventional radiology. Percutaneous ethanol injection, which has been used most effectively and extensively in the Far East, demonstrated that it is possible to completely destroy small hepatocellular carcinomas, obviating the need for surgical removal. This paved the way for the development of other local methods of treatment based on heating or freezing malignant tumors.

This book describes the state of the art in one of the most exciting fields in modern medicine. The authors are all world authorities in their field. The volume focuses on interventional radiological techniques but also provides a summary of the pathology of liver tumors, as well as an account of modern medical and surgical methods of treatment.

We are still in the early stages of local tumor treatment. The early results are very promising, and it is very likely that, in time, traditional surgical techniques will be increasingly supplemented by image-guided methods. Coupled with advances in structural and functional imaging, these advances offer the hope that a substantial proportion of patients with hepatic malignancy can be treated effectively.