Liver Cancer Treatment
There are several types of treatment to treat liver cancer, which is:
1) Surgery
- Surgery is the removal of the tumor and surrounding tissue during an operation. It is likely to be the most successful disease-directed treatment, particularly for patients with a small tumor (smaller than 5 cm). A surgical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer using surgery.
- Two types of surgery are used to treat Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The part of the liver with the cancer may be removed in a hepatectomy, or a liver transplantation may be done. However, if the tumor has spread outside the liver, or if the patient has other serious illnesses, surgery may not be an option.
2) Thermal Ablation
- Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave therapy both use heat to destroy cancer cells. It may be given through the skin, through laparoscopy, or during a surgical operation while a patient is sedated.
3) Percutaneous Ethanol Injection
- Percutaneous ethanol injection uses alcohol injected directly into the liver tumor to destroy it. Side effects include fever and pain after the procedure, but the procedure is generally very simple, safe, and particularly effective for a tumor smaller than 3 cm. If the alcohol escapes from the liver, however, a person may have brief but severe pain. This option is currently being used less often and has been largely replaced by radiofrequency ablation.