Liver is the largest organ of the abdomen. It helps to remove the harmful substances from the human body by assisting in proper digestion of the food. One of the major causes of liver cancer includes an infection of Chronic Hepatitis B. Other causes include drinking alcohol, obesity, diabetes and cirrhosis. Symptoms of liver cancer are abdominal pain, weight loss, jaundice, anemia, back pain and fever. It is diagnosed through different blood tests. Options of treatment for liver cancer include surgery, ablation, embolization, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

Surgery for Liver Cancer Treatment

In surgery for liver cancer, either a portion of the liver, partial hepatectomy, is removed or a liver transplantation is done, total hepactectomy. Surgery is performed only when the liver cancer is detected in its early stages.

Ablation for Liver Cancer Treatment

Ablation is performed when the cancerous cells present in the liver cannot be removed through surgery. In this method, electrodes are used to heat and then destroy these cells and then percutaneous ethanol injections are administered directly into the cancerous region.

Embolization for Liver Cancer Treatment

Embolization is also preferred when the liver cancer cannot be cured through surgery. In this method, a drug or substance is injected inside the artery. This substance stops the functioning of the bloodstream that supplies blood to the cancerous cells, thereby killing them. In some cases, embolization is combined with chemotherapy drugs, to relieve the patient quickly from the pain. This depends on the extent to which the cancerous cells are spread inside the patient’s body.

Radiation Therapy for Liver Cancer Treatment

Radiation therapy involves the use of high energy radiations to destroy the cancerous cells present in the liver. This therapy is preferred in the cases where the surgery is not an option in the treatment for liver cancer. If the patient is in the advanced stages of liver cancer, then this therapy is given to shrink the cancerous cells present in the body of the patient and relieve the patient from pain.

Chemotherapy for Liver Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy for liver cancer treatment is given in combination with embolization to kill the cancerous cells present in the liver of the patient. In this method, different combinations of drugs are given either in the form of pills or injections to destroy liver cancer. Sadly, this therapy also destroys the healthy cells present in that region hence liver cancer chemotherapy is not the most preferred option of treatment chosen by the oncologists to cure liver cancer.

Targeted Therapy for Liver Cancer Treatment

Targeted therapy is generally given when all the other options of treatment fail to cure liver cancer. It is mostly given in the form of a pill named nexavar. This drug reacts with bloodstream and blocks it from supplying blood to the cancerous cells present in the targeted region.

Given above were some options of treatment for liver cancer. All these options of treatment are effective and relieve the patient from liver cancer. Mostly surgery or liver transplant are preferred by the doctors, as these are more effective methods of treatment for liver cancer.

Please Note: The names of the pills or any other medications given above should only be taken under the guidance of an oncologist