PRIMARY CARCINOMA OF THE LIVER: A Study of Thirty-One Cases

PRIMARY carcinoma of the liver is a rare disease. In 1926 Counseller and McIndoe¹ reported 5 instances of this condition in 5.976 necropsies at the Mayo Clinic, and shortly thereafter they reported another.² Since that time, 25 additional cases of primary malignant growth of the liver have been discovered at necropsy at the Mayo Clinic. The present study is concerned with these 31 cases. Rokitansky³ is credited with being one of the earliest investigators to insist that a primary malignant hepatic neoplasm could occur. In 1876 Kelsh and Kiener⁴ reported 2 cases of primary carcinoma of the liver and found only 1 other case in the literature. In 1881 Sabourin⁵ added

HISTORIC SURVEY  4 more cases. In 1888 Hanot and Gilbert⁶ classified the tumors into three macroscopic groups: (1) cancer nodulaire, (2) cancer massif and (3) cancer avec cirrhose. They also suggested the microscopic