Liver cancer ranks third amongst the cancers detected across the globe. Most of the cases of liver cancers arise due to secondary cancer or cancers that have metastasized from other organs of body to the liver. The cancers that originate from the liver are called as primary liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma. Chemotherapy liver given to patients depends on the type and stage of cancer.

Liver cancer is in most cases detected symptomatically as symptoms such as abdominal pain, abdominal mass, nausea and jaundice show up in the patient. Besides the symptoms of liver cancer, medical imaging equipment may also detect the presence of liver cancer in the body. The other rare forms of this cancer include sarcoma, cholangiocarcinoma, mesenchymal, hepatoblastoma, angiosarcoma, lymphoma of cancer and hepatitis C.

Some of the common symptoms of the common form of cancer hepatocellular carcinoma include abdominal pain, back pain, abdominal mass, vomiting, jaundice, anemia, fever, weight loss and itching. Treatment options available for liver cancer include surgery, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hyperthermia, radiosurgery and photodynamic therapy. Although these treatment options are available and are used to treat the cancer, studies suggest that not all liver cancer patients could be completely cured. Some of the treatment options for the most common form of liver cancer include chemoembolization, liver transplantation, ablation techniques, injecting alcohol into the tumor, targeted therapy and radiotherapy.

Patients diagnosed with liver cancer have an added advantage if they have a good an insurance coverage.  This is because the price of chemotherapy treatment for liver cancer is one of the concerns. The drugs used for the treatment are quite expensive. Some drugs used for the chemotherapy treatment include doxorubicin (Adriamycin), cisplatin, 5-FU (5-fluoroucil), Sorafanib, Avastin and so on. Some patients have reported to have benefitted from drugs like tamoxifen (Novadex) and Ocreotide (Sandostatin). There are other drugs used for the treatment. Avastin is usually used for the treatment of colon cancer that has metastasized to the liver.

Chemoembolization and Liver Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs

Chemoembolization is a process where liver cancer chemotherapy drugs are injected directly into the liver. Chemoembolization is also used to treat other forms of cancer where the designated drugs are injected into the cancer affected organ or area however it is mostly used to treat liver cancer. In case of liver cancer, the drugs are injected into the artery that provides blood supply to the cancer. The artery with that function is hepatic artery and injecting the drugs into it blocks this artery. This in turn prevents blood supply to cancer cells and delivers the drugs to the cancer cells. Hepatic artery infusion is another term used for this process and is considered to be better than systemic chemotherapy as the chemotherapy drugs are conveniently delivered to the tumor and reduces the risk of side effects. Liver cancer chemotherapy drugs most commonly used include doxorubicin, cisplatin and fluorouracil (5-FU).

Given below is some more information on some of the drugs used in chemotherapy liver:

• Doxorubicin - Doxorubicin is also known by its trade name adriamycin and is an anthracycline antibiotic. This chemotherapy drug kills the cancer cells by slowing down the replication of the malignant cells. Doxorubicin is administered intravenously in many types of cancer. Some of the side effects of this liver cancer chemotherapy drug include low blood cell count, nausea, vomiting and skin darkening.
• Cisplatin - Cisplatin is also known as platinol and is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug. The function of this drug is similar to that of alkylating agents or drugs. Some of the common side effects of cisplatin include nausea and vomiting, low blood count and taste changes.
• Fluorouracil - Fluorouracil or 5-FU is an antimetabolite agent and prevents the cell growth by interfering with the DNA and RNA o f the cancer cells. Some of the common side effects of 5-FU include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and diarrhea.
• Chemoembolization usually does not cause many side effects as the drugs given by way of intravenous administration. This is because the drugs do not pass through the whole system but only is injected into the affected area. Although it may not cause as many side effects, some patients may notice mild and short-term side effects such as pain at the site of the cancer, fever, fatigue etc. Oral medication could help relieve the pain and other mild side effects. However, it is important that the patients do not take any of the medications without consulting with the doctor and the side effects of the treatment should also be discussed in advance to avoid panic.

The other side effects of liver chemotherapy include decrease in appetite, hair fall, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea. Most of these side effects are manageable and doctors prescribe medicines to control them. Chemotherapy can be given both intravenously as well as orally. It is given in the form of cycles and there is usually a rest period of about two to three weeks between two cycles.

Currently a lot of research is still going on to find out better drugs used in chemotherapy liver, especially for patients in the advanced stages. Although there are many treatment options and drugs available to cure liver cancer, your oncologist will decide the treatment that suits you best.