In other cases, it could take months or years for the cancer to spread to the liver. Treating the primary cancer can help reduce the risk of the cancer spreading. However, this is not a guarantee, as liver metastases can develop years after successful treatment.
People should follow healthful living guidelines to help prevent cancer. Some behaviors to avoid include drinking in excess and smoking.
People should maintain a healthful weight through diet and exercise. Also, early detection of any cancer type often gives the best chance of successful treatment. A person should have regular checkups and discuss any unusual symptoms with their doctor. In these cases, the person has advanced, or stage 4, cancer. Treatments can help reduce the symptoms and shrink the tumor, but typically, there is no cure for liver metastases. Liver cysts are abnormal growths that can develop in the liver. They are uncommon, and most people with liver cysts do not have symptoms.
If they…. Hemangiomas of the liver are the most common type of benign liver tumor. Liver hemangiomas rarely cause symptoms, although large or multiple….
Liver transplant surgery is the second most common transplant surgery in the U. Livers typically come from deceased donors, but transplants using…. Liver fibrosis occurs when chronic injury or inflammation causes a buildup of scar tissue. Some foods and drinks can help protect liver health. Learn more about the foods and drinks that are good for liver health here.
What to know about liver metastases. Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis and life expectancy Complications Prevention Summary Liver metastases refers to when a cancer that originally formed in another part of the body spreads to the liver.
Share on Pinterest As the tumor advances, symptoms may include nausea, abdominal bloating, and loss of appetite. Share on Pinterest A healthcare provider may run a CT scan of the abdomen to diagnose liver metastases.
In some countries, it is the most common cancer type. The 5-year survival rate tells you what percent of people live at least 5 years after the cancer is found. Percent means how many out of Survival rates depend on several factors, including the stage of the disease. However, even if the cancer is found at a more advanced stage, treatments are available to help many people with liver cancer experience a quality of life similar to that of before their diagnosis, at least for some time.
If surgery is possible, that generally results in higher survival rates across all stages of the disease. It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with liver cancer are an estimate. The estimate comes from annual data based on the number of people with this cancer in the United States. Also, experts measure the survival statistics every 5 years.
So the estimate may not show the results of better diagnosis or treatment available for less than 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics. The next section in this guide is Medical Illustrations. It offers drawings of body parts often affected by liver cancer. One of the main functions of the liver is to create a fluid called bile, used by the body to help break down fat.
The bile is transported to the digestive system via a series of tubes called bile ducts. For reasons that are unclear, in cases of primary biliary cirrhosis, the bile ducts gradually become damaged. This eventually leads to a build-up of bile inside the liver, which damages the liver and causes cirrhosis. For many people, the first stage of diagnosing liver cancer is a consultation with a GP, although people at risk are usually tested regularly for the condition.
If you visit your GP, they will ask about your symptoms, when they started, and when they are noticeable. They will also examine you. If they feel you need further tests, they will refer you to a hospital specialist.
Some of the tests you may have are described below. If you are in a high-risk group for developing liver cancer, regular screening — known as surveillance — is often recommended. This is because the earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the greater the chance there is of curing it.
Surveillance is usually recommended if you have cirrhosis scarring of the liver , although there are other factors that can also affect your risk of liver cancer. The potential benefits of surveillance should be discussed with you before you enter any screening programme. The tests above can also be used to look for liver cancer in people who are not being routinely screened. If these initial tests suggest there is a chance you could have liver cancer, one or multiple tests will usually be recommended to confirm the diagnosis.
After these tests have been carried out, it will usually be possible to confirm a diagnosis of liver cancer and determine the condition's "stage". Staging is a term used to describe how far a particular cancer has spread.
There are a number of different systems used to stage liver cancer. Many liver cancer specialists use combination staging systems that include features of both the cancer and the underlying liver function to stage a person's condition. This is because the length of time a person lives and how well they tolerate potential treatments will be determined not only by how advanced their cancer is, but also by their level of health and how good their underlying liver function is.
The BCLC staging system consists of five stages. These are:. The treatment for liver cancer depends on the stage of the condition. Treatment can include surgery and medication. Most hospitals use multidisciplinary teams MDTs to treat liver cancer.
These are teams of specialists that work together to make decisions about the best way to proceed with your treatment. Deciding which treatment is best for you can often be confusing. Your cancer team will recommend what they think is the best treatment option, but the final decision will be yours. Your recommended treatment plan will depend on the stage your liver cancer is at see diagnosing liver cancer for more information about staging.
If your cancer is at stage A when diagnosed, a complete cure may be possible. The three main ways this can be achieved are:.
If your cancer is at stage B or C, a cure is not usually possible. However, chemotherapy can slow the progression of the cancer, relieve symptoms, and prolong life for months or, in some cases, years. There is also a medication called sorafenib that can help prolong life. If your cancer is at stage D when diagnosed, it is usually too late to slow down the spread of the cancer.
Instead, treatment focuses on relieving any symptoms of pain and discomfort you may have. If damage to your liver is minimal and the cancer is contained in a small part of your liver, it may be possible to remove the cancerous cells during surgery. This procedure is known as surgical resection. As the liver can regenerate itself, it may be possible to remove a large section of it without seriously affecting your health.
However, in the majority of people with liver cancer, their liver's regenerative ability may be significantly impaired and resection may be unsafe. Whether or not a resection can be performed is often determined by assessing the severity of your cirrhosis scarring of the liver. If a liver resection is recommended, it will be carried out under a general anaesthetic , which means you will be asleep during the procedure and won't feel any pain as it is carried out.
Most people are well enough to leave hospital within a week or two of having surgery. However, depending on how much of your liver was removed, it may take several months for you to fully recover. Liver resection is a complicated surgery and can have a considerable impact on your body.
There is a significant risk of complications occurring during and after surgery. Liver resection can also sometimes cause fatal complications, such as a heart attack.
It is estimated that around 1 in every 30 people who have liver resection surgery will die during or shortly after the operation. A liver transplant involves removing a cancerous liver and replacing it with a healthy one from a donor. This is a major operation and there is a risk of potentially life-threatening complications. It's estimated around 1 in every 30 people will die during the procedure and up to 1 in 10 people will die at some point in the year after surgery.
If you have multiple tumours or a tumour larger than 5cm, the risk of the cancer returning is usually so high that a liver transplant will be of no benefit. If you are suitable for a liver transplant, you will normally need to be placed on a waiting list until a donor liver becomes available. The average waiting time for a liver transplant is days for adults.
In some cases, a small part of the liver of a living relative can be used. This is known as a living donor liver transplant. The advantage of using a living donor liver transplant is that the person receiving the transplant can plan the procedure with their medical team and relative, and will not usually have to wait very long. Read more about liver transplants.
Microwave or radiofrequency ablation RFA may be recommended as an alternative to surgery to treat liver cancer at an early stage, ideally when the tumour or tumours are smaller than 5cm 50mm in diameter. They can also be used to treat tumours larger than this, but the treatment may need to be repeated in such cases. These treatments involve heating the tumours with microwaves or radio waves produced by small, needle-like electrodes.
This heat kills the cancer cells and causes the tumours to shrink. Continuous ultrasound or computerised tomography CT scans are used to make sure the needles are guided into the correct position. Microwave ablation or RFA can be carried out under general anaesthetic or local anaesthetic where you are awake but the area being treated is numbed , depending on the technique used and the size of the area being treated.
How long it takes to carry out the treatment depends on the size and number of tumours being treated, but it usually takes between one and three hours in total. Most people need to stay overnight in hospital. You may experience some minor discomfort and flu -like symptoms, such as chills and muscle pains, for a few days after the procedure. The risk of complications occurring with microwave ablation or RFA is low, but possible problems can include bleeding, infection, minor burns and damage to nearby organs.
A type of chemotherapy called transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation TACE is usually recommended to treat cases of stage B and C liver cancer.
In these cases, the treatment can prolong life, but cannot cure the cancer. TACE may also be used to help prevent cancer spreading out of the liver in people waiting for a liver transplant.
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