【Abstract】Objective To find out if apoptosis is induced after intra-radiotherapy and its effects on pericarcinomal tissue. Methods From 1994 to 1998, 44 patients with unresectable liver cancer received 32P-GMS intra-radiotherapy. After 2 to 6 months the tumors in 3 cases could be resected and we used this cases as the treatment group. We use 4 patients with resectional HCC of same age, diseased region, differentiated but without anyother therapy as the control group. The TUNEL staining was used to stain the resected tissue, and the apoptosis index was counted. Results The apoptosis index of carcinoma was 29%～34%, average (31±16)% in the treatment group and that of the control group was 4%～6%, average (5±12.2)%. The apoptosis index of pericarcinomal tissue was 27%～37%, average (35±11)% in the treatment group and that of the control group was 0.3%～5%, average (4.1±3.3)%. Conclusion 32P-GMS intra-radiotherapy can enhance the apoptosis of HCC and its adjacent tissue.