Liver cancer treatment depends on various factors such as the stage of the disease, the patient’s age, overall health, and personal preferences. While there is no cure for liver cancer, the goal of treatment is to eliminate the cancer if possible, or if not, to prevent its growth or spread, prolong life expectancy, and maintain quality of life. Treatment options for liver cancer include:
1. **Surgery**: Partial hepatectomy, which involves removing the tumor along with a portion of the liver, may be performed if the tumor is small and the liver function is good. Surgical removal of the cancer improves prognosis and life expectancy.
2. **Liver transplant**: For early-stage liver cancer, liver transplant surgery may be an option. This involves removing the diseased liver and replacing it with a healthy donor liver. However, this option is only suitable for select patients, as transplanting the liver is not feasible for everyone, especially those with metastatic or secondary liver cancer.
3. **Cryoablation**: Cancer cells can be destroyed by freezing them using a technique called cryoablation. Liquid nitrogen is injected directly into liver tumors under ultrasound guidance to freeze and destroy the cells.
4. **Radiofrequency ablation**: This technique uses electric current to heat and destroy cancer cells. Thin needles are inserted through small incisions in the abdomen and guided to the tumor using ultrasound or CT scan images. The cancer cells are then destroyed by heating with an electric current.
5. **Alcohol injection**: Pure alcohol can be injected directly into the tumor to cause the cancer cells to die.
6. **Chemotherapy**: Chemotherapy is the main treatment for patients with unresectable secondary liver cancer and is sometimes used for primary liver cancer as well.
7. **Chemoembolization**: Anti-cancer drugs are injected directly into the liver through the hepatic artery, followed by blocking the artery to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to the cancer cells and cut off their blood supply.
8. **Radiation therapy**: High-energy beams are used to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. Advanced techniques like stereotactic radiosurgery may be employed, where multiple radiation beams are focused simultaneously at one point in the body.
9. **Targeted drug therapy**: Drugs like Sorafenib interfere with the tumor’s ability to generate new blood vessels, slowing or stopping the progression of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Further research is needed to optimize the use of targeted therapies to control advanced liver cancer and improve prognosis.