OBJECTIVES: I. Assess the safety and efficacy of liquid nitrogen necrosis of liver lesions using a commercially available intraoperative cryosurgical system, with placement of the cryoprobe and subsequent monitoring by high-resolution ultrasound. II. Use this technique on selected patients with surgically unresectable metastatic or primary liver cancer whose disease appears confined to the liver and who are potentially curable if all tumor in the liver can be destroyed. III. Quantitate the quality and duration of survival, identify recurrence of hepatic malignant disease, and identify any morbidity from the procedure.