SummaryExtracts from dog livers which had been regenerating for 24, 48, and 72 h after hepatectomy were infused for 6 h into the left portal vein of animals which had fresh portacaval shunts (Eck fistula) and which were killed 2 and 3 days later. The brief exposure to the 48-h and especially the 72-h regenerating liver extracts induced a delayed proliferative response predominantly in the left liver lobes, with a slight spillover effect to the right liver lobes but none to the kidney. The response reached its peak 3 days later. In the left but not the right liver lobes, both the 48-h and the 72-h regenerating liver extract reversed the atrophy ordinarily caused by Eck fistula in 3 days and partly prevented the ultrastructural hepatocyte deterioration characteristic of Eck fistula. The active liver extracts apparently contained a growth-control factor or factors which is (are) not insulin or glucagon.

The method of pancreatogastrointestinal anastomosis should be chosen according to each individual case.

A total of 100 patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma, less than or equal to 5 cm in diameter, seen during the last 8 years were analyzed retrospectively for survival time in relation to treatment and Child's grading. When analyzed with respect to major treatment modalities without considering stage, the median survival was 35.0 months for 34 patients treated by surgery, 28.8 months for 20 patients treated by transcatheter arterial embolization, 10.6 months for 25 patients treated by intraarterial chemotherapy and 9.7 months for 17 patients who received no specific treatment. When patients were divided into three stages without considering treatment, the median survival was 37.1 months for 37 Child's A patients, 16.2 months for 36 Child's B patients and 1.6 months for 27 Child's C patients. These results suggest that the prognosis depended on treatment given and the Child's grade. The effects of major therapeutic modalities on survival were analyzed with regard to Child's grading. Among Child's A patients, the actuarial survival rate for surgery was better than that for transcatheter arterial embolization and for arterial chemotherapy. Among Child's B patients, the survival rate for transcatheter arterial embolization was better than for other treatments. Among Child's C patients, there was no significant difference in survival rate regardless of treatment and its modality. These results suggest that surgery may be indicated as a first choice in Child's A patients, transcatheter arterial embolization in Child's B patients, and there is no effective treatment in Child's C patients. The major cause of death was hepatic failure irrespective of treatment.