After hepatectomy patients with cirrhosis and liver cancer may develop progressive hepatic dysfunction and eventually hepatic failure. Insulin and glucagon are often used to treat certain kinds of hepatic dysfunction and hepatic insufficiency. We investigated the effect of glucagon on bile acid metabolism and pancreatic endocrine function. In 7 patients with severe cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, 1 mg of glucagon was injected intravenously pre- and post-operatively, and total bile acids, C-AMP, and bile acid fractions were determined. In the pre-operative glucagon tolerance test, the C-AMP level rose from a baseline of 14 +/- 0.8 PMol/ml to 362 +/- 94 PMol/ml 30 min after the injection of glucagon (p less than 0.01); and the level of total bile acids decreased from a baseline of 28 +/- 9 microMol/ml to 11 +/- 3 microMol/ml 60 min after the injection of glucagon. The post-operative C-AMP level increased from a baseline of 13 +/- 1 PMol/ml to 192 +/- 58 PMol/ml level of 30 min after the injection of glucagon (p less than 0.01), and the post-operative level of total bile acids decreased from a baseline of 64 +/- 20 microMol/ml to 26 +/- 7 microMol/ml 60 min after the injection of glucagon. There was a significant correlation between the 5-min increment ratio of C-AMP and the decrement ratio of total bile acids (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)