Treatment Options
Most liver cancers are treated by surgery to remove the diseased part of the liver. Surgery to remove part of the liver is called partial hepatectomy and is done if the cancer has not spread to other lymph nodes or parts of the body.
After surgery, the normal liver tissue takes over the function of the liver. Up to 80 percent of the liver can be surgically removed and the liver will regenerate itself within weeks, provided that the liver otherwise is normal.
For a variety of reasons, some patients cannot have the liver removed by surgery. These cancers are called unresectable. Resectable is the medical term meaning "able to be removed by surgery."
Patients who cannot have surgery because the liver is too damaged may receive a liver transplant. Advanced liver cancer, cancer that is found in both lobes of the liver or that has spread to other parts of the body, cannot be cured but it is usually treated with chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells) and radiation therapy.
Other Treatments
Other treatments that can help control the disease and potentially help the patient live longer and better include:
After surgery, the normal liver tissue takes over the function of the liver. Up to 80 percent of the liver can be surgically removed and the liver will regenerate itself within weeks, provided that the liver otherwise is normal.
For a variety of reasons, some patients cannot have the liver removed by surgery. These cancers are called unresectable. Resectable is the medical term meaning "able to be removed by surgery."
Patients who cannot have surgery because the liver is too damaged may receive a liver transplant. Advanced liver cancer, cancer that is found in both lobes of the liver or that has spread to other parts of the body, cannot be cured but it is usually treated with chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells) and radiation therapy.
Other Treatments
Other treatments that can help control the disease and potentially help the patient live longer and better include:
- Cryosurgery, which involves freezing and killing the tumor cells
- Radiofrequency ablation, which involves a special probe to kill the cancer cells with heat
- Alcohol ablation, which involves injecting ethanol directly into the tumor to kill the cancer cells
- Chemoembolization, which involves injecting an anticancer drug through a catheter into the hepatic artery and then cutting off the blood supply to the tumor, depriving the tumor of life-giving oxygen.