Treatment of liver cancer
Primary liver cancer treatments are determined by the severity (stage) of the condition, your age, general health, and personal preferences.
Surgery
The following methods are used to treat liver cancer:
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Surgery to remove the tumor.
If your tumor is tiny and the liver function is excellent, your doctor may, in certain cases, advise a method to eliminate the liver cancer and a small part of the healthy liver tissue that surrounds it.
Whether this is a choice for you also depends on where the cancer is located, how effectively your liver works, and how healthy you are in general.
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Liver transplant surgery.
The damaged liver is removed through a liver transplant procedure and replaced with a healthy one from a donor. Only a limited number of patients with early-stage liver cancer have the option of undergoing liver transplant surgery.
Localized treatments
Localized liver cancer therapies are those that are given specifically to the cancer cells or the region around the cancer cells. Options for localized liver cancer treatments include:
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Heating cancer cells.
Electric current is used in radiofrequency ablation to heat and kill cancer cells. The doctor makes a few tiny incisions in your belly and places one or more fine needles using an imaging test, like an ultrasound, as a guide. When the needles get close to the tumor, an electric current heat them up, killing the cancer cells. Lasers or microwaves may be used in further treatments to heat the cells of the cancer.
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Freezing cancer cells.
Extreme cold is used in cryoablation to kill cancer cells. Your doctor will use a tool called a cryoprobe during the surgery to apply liquid nitrogen straight to liver tumors. To direct the cryoprobe and track the freezing of the cells, ultrasound pictures are employed.
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Chemotherapy drugs are injected into the liver.
Chemoembolization is a form of chemotherapy in which potent anti-cancer medications are injected directly into the liver.
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Alcohol injection into the tumor.
Pure alcohol is injected into tumors, during alcohol injection, either via the skin or through surgery. Alcohol results in the death of malignant cells.
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Placing beads filled with radiation in the liver.
The liver can be implanted with tiny radiation-containing spheres that can deliver radiation directly to the tumor.
Radiation therapy
This therapy shrinks tumors by destroying cancer cells with a powerful energy from sources like protons and X-rays. The energy is carefully directed toward the liver, while the surrounding healthy tissue is spared.
If alternative treatments are not possible or have not worked, radiation therapy may be a possibility. Radiation treatment may help manage the symptoms of advanced liver cancer.
A stereotactic body radiotherapy is a special form of radiation treatment that involves directing several radiation beams simultaneously to a single location on your body.
Targeted drug therapy
Targeted medication therapies concentrate on certain defects that are prevalent in cancer cells. Targeted medication therapies can kill cancer cells by preventing these mutations.
Many targeted medications are available to manage advanced liver cancer.
Many targeted treatments are only effective in patients whose cancer cells carry certain genetic abnormalities. In a lab, the cancer cells may be examined to determine if these medications are beneficial.
Immunotherapy
Your immune system is used in immunotherapy to fight cancer. Because cancer cells synthesize proteins that make immune system cells blind, your body’s immune system may fail to combat your cancer. Immunotherapy must affect that process to work.
Advanced liver cancer patients are often the only ones who receive immunotherapy therapies.
Chemotherapy
Drugs are used in chemotherapy to destroy rapidly proliferating cells, especially cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be given orally, intravenously, or both ways through a vein in the arm.
Advanced liver cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy.
Palliative (supportive) care
Palliative care is a form of specialized medical treatment that concentrates on relieving pain and other severe disease symptoms. Specialists in palliative care collaborate with you, your loved ones, and your other medical professionals to add an extra layer of support to your continuing treatment. While receiving more invasive therapies like surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy, supportive care can be employed.
Patients with cancer may feel better and survive longer when supportive care is utilized in addition to all other necessary therapies.