Overview
Cancer is a disease that occurs when abnormal cells grow too quickly and obstruct the regular cells’ ability to function.
There are two classifications for liver cancer. The term “primary liver cancer” refers to cancer that begins in the tissue of the liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent type of primary liver cancer. In the United States, the number of instances of primary liver cancer has risen steadily over time.
Cancer that began in another part of the body and spread to the liver is known as secondary liver cancer. Metastatic liver cancer is another name for this form of disease.
Signs/Symptoms
In the early stages of liver cancer, you may have no symptoms. You may have the following symptoms if your liver is swollen: You could have:
- Bloating
- Dark color urine
- Jaundice
- Unexplained weight loss
- Nausea
- A lump below the rib cage or pain on the right side of the abdomen, or pain near the right shoulder
Causes
Hepatitis and other liver illnesses can lead to liver cancer. Cirrhosis raises your risk as well. Some persons with liver cancer, on the other hand, do not have any other liver problems. In many circumstances, the root of the problem is unknown.
Treatment
If you have liver cancer, your treatment and prognosis (or probability of recovery) may be affected by a number of factors. These factors include your overall health, the function of your liver, the stage of your cancer, and your alpha-fetoprotein levels.
At Apollo Medics Hospital Lucknow, we offer the following treatment options for liver cancer:
- Liver transplant surgery: A surgical procedure in which the complete liver is replaced with a healthy donor liver. This is the definitive cure for liver cancer with least recurrence rates but the decision to transplant should be left to the treating team. There are two types of it:
- Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation (DDLT): In this procedure, the patient’s diseased liver is replaced with a healthy liver from a deceased donor.
- LDLT (Living Donor Liver Transplantation): In this procedure, a patient with a damaged liver receives a portion of their liver from a family member or friend. The patient’s diseased liver is replaced with a healthy one, which develops to its usual size over time.
- Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill or prevent cancer cells from replicating. Chemotherapy can have a systemic effect (pills or injections that travel through the entire body).
- Transarterial chemotherapy (TACE)- It is a non-surgical and minimally invasive procedure which is an effective way of removing tumor burden in case of surgery.
- Targeted Therapy – Drugs that target cancer genes or tissues are referred to as targeted therapy. Chemotherapy is not the same as targeted therapy.
- Radiotherapy destroys cancer cells and shrinks tumors by using high-powered energy from sources such as X-rays and protons. Doctors carefully direct the energy to the liver while protecting the good tissue in the surrounding area. You lie on a table during an external beam radiation therapy treatment, and a machine directs energy beams at a particular place on your body.
- Immunotherapy- Drugs that guide the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells are known as immunotherapy. It, too, is not the same as chemotherapy.
