Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body start dividing uncontrollably and gain the ability to spread all over the body. Cancers can also arise in the liver and are called liver cancers. Liver cancer includes two major types: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic bile duct cancer.
Besides these common types, various uncommon types of liver cancers also exist.
Signs of Liver Cancer are quite varied. Common symptoms include
The following tests and procedures may be used:
The prognosis and treatment options depend on the following:
Patients in good health whose tumour is in only one part of the liver that can be removed without harm and left over liver is adequate for preserved functioning of body.
For patients with decompensated cirrhosis and a solitary lesion (<5 cm) or early multifocal disease (≤3 lesions, ≤3 cm in diameter), the best option is liver transplantation, but the limited availability of liver donors restricts the use of this approach.
Radiation therapy may be used in patients in whom tumour is localized but may not be easily operable.
TACE (Trans-arterial Chemoembolization) & TARE (Trans-arterial Radioembolization) are innovative methods of liver cancer treatment involving direct injection of treatment drugs into the artery of the liver.
They help in patients in whom surgery and transplant may not be feasible. Occasionally they may be considered in patients for downstaging (reducing the size and hence the stage) of the tumour so that patient may become eligible for other treatment options. In addition, sometimes the treatments may be used in patients as bridge therapy in patients waiting for transplant.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy).
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Targeted therapies usually cause less harm to normal cells than chemotherapy or radiation therapy do.
Targeted and chemotherapy are usually used in patients in which curative treatment is not possible & have been shown to extend life.
Recently, a class of drugs known as immunotherapy has also shown efficacy in liver cancers. These drugs are usually used in patients where curative treatment is not an option.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.