liver cancer

My dad 73 wm, had a scan for gall bladder stones. found spot on liver. confirmed spot on liver was cancerous and self contained. cancer started in liver. surgery to remove top 1/3 of liver and "microwave" area for loose cells. will also remove gall bladder. are there any statistics on survival rate for this type of surgery? normal function liver. what are the chances of liver failure with such removal. i understand the liver grows back.

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
From your description, I presume that your father has been diagnosed with “Hepatocellular carcinoma” which is confined to the liver and is surgically resectable. Surgery is the treatment of choice for this cancer if it is amenable to resection. Before undertaking the surgery, any spread of the cancer to other sites or organs should be ruled out.
Hepatocellular carcinoma has the propensity to spread to multiple areas in the liver as well, so this too should be ruled out before proceeding with the surgery. Liver has a good capacity to regenerate after a part of it has been surgically removed. The chances of liver failure would depend on the volume of the liver that has been excised and the status of the remaining liver. If the rest of the liver is healthy then there is very little possibility of a liver failure.
In general, solitary hepatocellular carcinoma lesions confined to the liver with well-preserved hepatic function have the best outcomes following surgery. Five-year survival rates for resectable lesions vary widely from 30% to as high as 90% for very early stage disease.
All the best, and God Bless!