Liver Cancer Treatment Overview

Options in Treating Liver Cancer

How adult primary liver cancer is treated differs, depending on the stage of the disease. Some treatment plans may include standard treatments like chemotherapy or radiation, while some plans will include clinical trials of new drugs and treatment methods. Regardless of what type of treatment plan you and your doctor choose, you should know all the options that are available.

Treatment Options for Primary Liver Cancer

Surgery. There are a couple of different option for treating liver cancer surgically. These options include:

• Cryosurgery: This type of surgery involves freezing cancer cells within the liver tissue. This type of treatment is typically performed in cases where the cancer has not spread to nearby tissues.
  
• Partial hepatectomy: A partial hepatectomy is the surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver.
  
• Complete hepatectomy:A total hepatectomy is the complete surgical removal of the liver. A liver transplant is done with this procedure.
  
• Radiofrequency ablation: This is the use of a probe that has tiny electrodes that destroy cancer cells. The probe is inserted through an incision in the abdomen, under anesthesia.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to stop the growth or kill cancer cells. There are many ways chemotherapy drugs are given. Unfortunately, there are quite a few side effects of chemotherapy. Side effects include hair loss, nausea, and stomach upset.

Radiation Therapy. Radiation therapy is the use of high energy beams to destroy cancer cells. There are side effects to radiation therapy, just like in chemotherapy. Radiation can be given internally, externally or through seeds and catheters.

Ethanol Injection. An ethanol injection is basically alcohol injected into the tumor. It is sometimes done a couple of times a week under localized anesthesia.

_{Source: National Cancer Institute: Liver Cancer Treatment}