Options to treat liver cancers:
Patients with a healthy liver.
1) Surgery: If your liver is healthy
a. Laparoscopic: less painful, shorter hospitalization
b. Open: if laparoscopic surgery not possible
Patients with an unhealthy liver (cirrhosis).
1) Liver transplant: in patients with small cancers liver transplant is a treatment option. Eligible patients either have a single tumor , less than 5 cm in diameter or no more than 3 tumors, each being no greater than 3 cm in diameter. There can be no tumor outside the liver or invasion of tumor into visible vessels in the the liver.
2) Local destruction of cancer within your liver: If your liver is not healthy enough to tolerate surgery, options to treat the cancer include
a. Hepatic artery embolization: injection of tiny particles to block blood supply to cancer, causing it to die. Often combined with injecting chemotherapy into blood supply feeding cancer.
b. Radio Frequency Ablation: uses a multi-prong needle to cook cancer within your liver. Can be performed using laparoscopic surgery or through the skin (percutaneous).
c. Alcohol injection: for cancers less than 2 cm in diameter injection of 5-10 ml of alcohol can be used to destroy the cancer.
d. 3D conformal radiation: If the cancer invades the veins feeding your liver (portal vein), highly focused radiation is used to stop the growth of the tumor in the vein.
3) Due to the low survival of liver cancer, patients should consider participation in a clinical trial to find better treatments.
Patients with a healthy liver.
1) Surgery: If your liver is healthy
a. Laparoscopic: less painful, shorter hospitalization
b. Open: if laparoscopic surgery not possible
Patients with an unhealthy liver (cirrhosis).
1) Liver transplant: in patients with small cancers liver transplant is a treatment option. Eligible patients either have a single tumor , less than 5 cm in diameter or no more than 3 tumors, each being no greater than 3 cm in diameter. There can be no tumor outside the liver or invasion of tumor into visible vessels in the the liver.
2) Local destruction of cancer within your liver: If your liver is not healthy enough to tolerate surgery, options to treat the cancer include
a. Hepatic artery embolization: injection of tiny particles to block blood supply to cancer, causing it to die. Often combined with injecting chemotherapy into blood supply feeding cancer.
b. Radio Frequency Ablation: uses a multi-prong needle to cook cancer within your liver. Can be performed using laparoscopic surgery or through the skin (percutaneous).
c. Alcohol injection: for cancers less than 2 cm in diameter injection of 5-10 ml of alcohol can be used to destroy the cancer.
d. 3D conformal radiation: If the cancer invades the veins feeding your liver (portal vein), highly focused radiation is used to stop the growth of the tumor in the vein.
3) Due to the low survival of liver cancer, patients should consider participation in a clinical trial to find better treatments.