Liver cancer: treatment in accordance with the stages of the disease

Cancer of the liver is characterized by the development of malignant formation within the same body (primary tumor). Often the cause of this cancer is metastases, the source of which is a cancer, localized in another organ (secondary tumor).

Stages (degrees) of liver cancer  

The stage of liver cancer is determined by the size of the tumor, the degree of involvement of the lymph nodes and the presence and extent of metastases spread to other organs. So, there are four stages of liver cancer.

1. Early development of the tumor. A favorable prognosis, which may imply full recovery, provided early treatment. One tumor. There are no metastases. Lesions of lymph nodes are absent.
2. One large tumor or several small ones. Germination in the blood vessels. There are no lesions of lymph nodes and metastases to other parts of the body.
3. A large tumor within the liver. Germination in large vessels of the liver: a hepatic or portal vein. Metastases in the peritoneum or adjacent organs, as well as lymph nodes.
4. Lesion of the liver with a tumor. Mestastasis in the lymph nodes and at least one distant organ. The outlook is unfavorable. Palliative (supportive) treatment.

Treatment of liver cancer  

The main method of treating liver cancer in the first two stages is surgical intervention. However, the 5-year survival rate does not exceed 6%, since liver cancer is characterized by frequent relapses. Therefore, to improve the prognosis, the surgical method is combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which is determined by the individual characteristics of the patient. A variant of treatment may be liver transplantation, especially when the tumor grows into large vessels or bile ducts. To date, this method is the most effective.

In later stages, surgical intervention is useless, since metastases appear. Then the tumor is affected in many ways, without removing it, and partially destroying and restraining growth. These methods include:

• Radiofrequency ablation, which uses a high frequency current to destroy the tumor;
• Introduction of medical alcohol;
• Microwave effect;
• Cryosurgical method (for destruction of large tumor formations).

Several methods of radiation therapy are used to treat liver cancer. Irradiation of tumor formation by a beam of protons is widespread. Proton-beam therapy consists in the creation of a proton beam, aimed at the tumor, as a result of which only the damaged tissue is destroyed, and healthy tissues are not affected.

In the treatment of liver cancer, radiothebolysis is also practiced. In the course of this procedure, capsules with a radioactive substance - yttrium-90 are introduced into the vessels feeding the tumor. As a result, the capsules enter the tumor. Tumor formation is irradiated from within within 64 hours.

Another modern method of treating liver cancer is called the Cyberknife . The computer program determines the trajectory of irradiation. The computer also controls the procedure as a whole. This method is quite accurate (up to 0.5 mm).

Chemotherapy is another form of treatment for liver cancer. There are 3 types of chemotherapy:

Chemoembolization , in which a chemotherapeutic agent in a microcapsule or oily solution is injected into a vessel supplying tumor formation;

Chemoinfusion , which involves the use of a catheter to administer an aqueous solution of the chemotherapeutic agent;

Chemical ablation , in which the chemical is delivered directly to the tumor.

Liver cancer, like any malignant disease, is a threat to the life of the patient. Therefore, early diagnosis is a vital necessity, which determines the patient's survival. It should be remembered that the prognosis of the disease can be favorable only in the early stages of development.