Conversion of unresectable to resectable hepatoblastoma and long-term follow-up study.

In children with hepatoblastoma, cure or a prolonged disease-free interval can only be accomplished with surgical resection of the primary tumor. Less than 50% of children with hepatoblastoma are felt to have resectable tumors at the time of diagnosis. Clinical studies have recently focused on the hypothesis that adjuvant chemotherapy can convert the unresectable tumor to a tumor that can be resected. Short-term outcomes for patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent resection are nearly equal to those patients treated with initial resection followed by chemotherapy. This study is a review of the current literature of the chemotherapeutic conversion of unresectable hepatoblastoma and an update on the long-term follow-up of some of these patients.