Liver Cancer (cont.)

The treatment options are dictated by the stage of liver cancer and the overall condition of the patient. The only proven cure for liver cancer is liver transplantation for a solitary, small (<3cm) tumor. Now, many physicians may dispute this statement. They would argue that a small tumor can be surgically removed (partial hepatic resection) without the need for a liver transplantation. Moreover, they may claim that the one- and three-year survival rates for resection are perhaps comparable to those for liver transplantation.

However, most patients with liver cancer also have cirrhosis of the liver and would not tolerate liver resection surgery. In fact, in the United States, only 8% of people with liver cancer are able to undergo surgery. But, they probably could tolerate the transplantation operation, which involves removal of the patient's entire diseased liver just prior to transplanting a donor liver. Furthermore, many patients who undergo hepatic resections will develop a recurrence of liver cancer elsewhere in the liver within several years. In fact, some experts believe that once a liver develops liver cancer, there is a tendency for that liver to develop other tumors at the same time (synchronous multicentric occurrence) or at a later time (metachronous multicentric occurrence). This makes sense, since whatever in the liver caused the cancer to develop in the first place is still there. Realistically, though, donor livers are a very limited resource, so many patients who need a transplantation will never receive one.

The results of the various medical treatments available (see below; chemotherapy, chemoembolization, ablation, and proton beam therapy) remain disappointing. Moreover, for reasons noted earlier (primarily the variability in natural history), there have been no systematic study comparisons of the different treatments. As a result, individual patients will find that the various treatment options available to them depend largely on the local expertise.

How do we know if a particular treatment worked for a particular patient? Well, hopefully, the patient will feel better. However, a clinical response to treatment is usually defined more objectively. Thus, a response is defined as a decrease in the size of the tumor on imaging studies along with a reduction of the alpha-fetoprotein in the blood if the level was elevated prior to treatment.

One thing to keep in mind is that in a relatively healthy patient there is never just one answer to this question. Usually, people go through multiple different treatments sequentially. Something is chosen as the best place to start, and then other treatments are tried once the previous one stops working. The idea is to make sure someone is healthy enough to be able to try another therapy if they still desire it.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_cancer/article.htm