Liver cancer is a type of cancer that affects the cells in the liver. Liver cancer is one of the most serious and deadly forms of the disease, with a five-year survival rate of just 9%. Part of the reason that liver cancer is so serious is because it rarely starts in the liver. Instead, a nearby organ or part of the body will become cancerous, such as the breast, stomach, or colon, and spread to the liver. As such, the cancer is often very advanced and widespread by the time it reaches the liver.
Because of its high fatality rate, it’s crucial to have liver cancer diagnosed and treated as quickly and aggressively as possible. The best treatment will vary depending on your age, physical condition, and how advanced the cancer is. In general, however, it includes one or more of the following options.
With early-stage liver cancer, surgery to remove the cancerous parts of the liver is the most common treatment. Surgery is also used to treat liver cancer if it has not yet spread to other parts of the body. During surgery, your doctor will remove all or part of your liver, depending on how much of it is cancerous. If you have your entire liver removed or a large portion, you will require a liver transplant.
Chemotherapy is a common and effective treatment for all types of cancer, including liver cancer. Chemotherapy is often used when surgery is not an option or if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This type of treatment is often combined with radiation and immunotherapy and involves using medications that target and kill cancer cells.
Another common liver cancer treatment option, ablation therapy, involves using heat to destroy cancer cells. Ablation therapy often relies on radiofrequency, electrical impulses, or extremely cold temperatures to heat or freeze and kill cancer cells. This treatment is often used when surgery is not a good option.
Often used in combination with chemotherapy, radiation therapy uses high-powered X-rays of energy to target and kill cancer cells. It is slightly more targeted than chemotherapy and does a better job of only targeting cancer cells. This is an effective way of shrinking cancerous tumours.
If your liver cancer has not spread to other parts of the body and your doctor does not want to proceed directly to chemotherapy, they may try embolization therapy. During embolization therapy, your doctor will restrict blood flow to the liver in the hopes of starving the liver cancer of the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive.
This treatment is tricky, however, because it’s necessary to keep blood flowing to healthy parts of the liver while restricting it from cancerous parts.
Immunotherapy is quickly becoming a popular treatment option for liver cancer and other forms of the disease. Immunotherapy is where your doctor pumps medications and vitamins into you to boost your immune system, which then has the ability to fight the cancer. This treatment is often combined with others, such as chemotherapy and radiation, and typically is not used alone.
While liver cancer is a dangerous and deadly form of cancer, it is treatable as long as you receive an early diagnosis and start treatment as soon as possible. Therefore, if you suspect that you have liver cancer, it is important to see your doctor immediately. It is also important to get screened regularly for liver cancer so that you can catch it as early as possible.