Cancer that starts in the cells of your liver is known as liver cancer. The liver is a large organ that sits in the upper right part of your abdomen, underneath your diaphragm and above your stomach.
The liver can develop a variety of cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent type of liver cancer, and it starts in the major kind of liver cell (hepatocyte). Other kinds of liver cancer are significantly less prevalent, such as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma.
Treatment for primary liver cancer is determined by the severity of the disease (stage), as well as your age, general health, and personal preferences.
In this article, Dr. Gaurav Gupta who is one of the best liver transplant surgeons in Mumbai will discuss everything you should know about liver cancer treatment.
Surgical procedures
Surgical procedure for liver cancer treatment includes following two major procedures-
- Surgery to remove the tumor is one of the procedures used to treat liver cancer. If your tumor is small and your liver function is good, your doctor may prescribe an operation to remove the liver cancer and a small part of healthy liver tissue that surrounds it. The location of your cancer within the liver, how well your liver operates, and your overall health all factor into whether this is an option for you.
- Liver Transplantation- Your diseased liver is removed and replaced with a healthy liver from a donor during liver transplant surgery. Only a limited fraction of persons with early-stage liver cancer are candidates for liver transplant surgery.
Localized treatments
Treatments for liver cancer that are provided directly to the cancer cells or the area surrounding the cancer cells are known as localized treatments.
The following are some localized therapy options for liver cancer that are used by Dr. Gaurav Gupta who is working with one of the best liver transplant center in Mumbai:
- Cancer cells are heated. Electric current is used to heat and destroy cancer cells in radiofrequency ablation. The doctor inserts one or more thin needles into small incisions in your belly using an imaging test, such as ultrasound, as a guide. When the needles reach the tumor, an electric current heats them up, killing the cancer cells. Microwaves or lasers could be used in other ways to heat cancer cells.
- Cancer cells are frozen. Cryoablation is a technique that uses intense cold to kill cancer cells. Your doctor will use a cryoprobe to inject liquid nitrogen directly into liver tumors during the surgery. The cryoprobe is guided by ultrasound pictures, which are utilized to monitor the freezing of the cells.
- Alcohol is injected into the tumor. Alcohol injection involves injecting pure alcohol directly into tumors, either through the skin or during surgery. The tumor cells die as a result of the alcohol.
- Chemotherapy medicines are injected into the liver. Chemoembolization is a method of chemotherapy in which powerful anti-cancer medications are delivered directly to the liver.
- Putting radiation-filled beads in the liver. Small spheres containing radiation might be implanted directly in the liver, delivering radiation to the tumor.
Radiation therapy
To destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors, this treatment employs high-powered energy from sources such as X-rays and protons. Doctors carefully direct the radiation to the liver while protecting the good tissue in the surrounding area.
If alternative treatments aren’t possible or haven’t worked, radiation therapy may be a possibility. Radiation therapy may help manage symptoms in advanced liver cancer patients.
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.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy is a type of radiation therapy that involves directing many beams of radiation at one spot in your body at the same time.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is an advanced liver cancer treatment method that uses medications to kill rapidly multiplying cells, such as cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be given by a vein in your arm, as a tablet, or a combination of both. Chemotherapy may be used to treat advanced liver cancer in rare cases.
Targeted medication therapy
Targeted medication treatments are designed to target specific abnormalities found in cancer cells. Targeted medication treatments can kill cancer cells by inhibiting these aberrations.
Advanced liver cancer can be treated with a variety of targeted medications.
Some targeted medicines are only effective in patients with cancer cells that contain specific genetic abnormalities. In a lab, your cancer cells may be analyzed to discover if these treatments can assist you.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that makes use of your immune system. Because cancer cells create proteins that blind immune system cells, your body’s disease-fighting immune system may not attack your cancer. Immunotherapy works by interfering with the immune system’s natural processes.
Immunotherapy is usually reserved for patients who have advanced liver cancer.
Palliative (supportive) care
Palliative care is a type of liver cancer treatment that focuses on relieving pain and other symptoms associated with a serious illness. Palliative care professionals collaborate with you, your family, and your other doctors to add an extra layer of support to your ongoing treatment. Palliative care can be used in conjunction with other aggressive treatments such surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.
People with cancer may feel better and survive longer when palliative care is used in conjunction with all other approved treatments.
A team of doctors, nurses, and other specially qualified professionals provide palliative care in Liver Care Mumbai which is one of the best liver transplant hospital. Palliative care teams are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients and their families. This type of treatment is provided in addition to any curative or other treatments you may be getting.