Prognosis of liver cancer treatment by stage

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Le Thien Quang - Internal Oncologist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital. The doctor has more than 15 years of experience in the field of examination and diagnosis of oncological diseases and treatment modalities of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and palliative care.
Liver cancer is curable and how long patients live depends on when the disease is detected. If detected early, treatment effectiveness can be as high as 80%.

1. Symptoms of liver cancer

Liver cancer is divided into 2 types depending on the source of the disease: One that originates in the liver (called primary liver cancer) and another that originates from other organs and spreads to the liver (called liver cancer). metastasis).
In the early stages, liver cancer patients have almost no symptoms, or very few typical symptoms. Therefore, the disease is easily overlooked or confused with other diseases. Accordingly, the patient may have poor appetite, unexplained fatigue, a feeling of heaviness in the right lower quadrant or epigastrium, but only transiently, insignificant. However, when clinical symptoms are recognized, the disease is already at a late stage:
Jaundice: A very common symptom, appearing in about one third of liver cancer patients, especially in the early stages. last. Jaundice is caused by damaged liver cells and tumors in the liver that put pressure on the intrahepatic bile ducts. Abdominal pain: Severe pain in the right abdomen, right where the liver is. This is an important symptom signaling primary liver cancer, also a common sign of liver cancer. Fever: Patients sometimes have a low-grade fever, but there are also cases of sudden high fever, above 39oC. Digestive disorders: Anorexia, poor digestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body weakness. Tumors in the liver: The liver becomes larger, hard, uneven surface with many nodules or unequal large and small tumors, often causing pain. In the final stages of liver cancer, the patient can feel very painful.

2. Is liver cancer curable?

Whether liver cancer is curable depends on early or late detection and treatment. In fact, if liver cancer is detected early, the treatment efficiency can be up to 80%. Moreover, liver cancer can be cured if the tumor is small. However, when most patients come to the hospital for examination, liver cancer is already in the final stage.
How long patients with liver cancer live depends on the stage of liver cancer and the time of treatment:
If the patient is operated early when the tumor size is less than 3cm (at this time the liver is just cirrhosis), then The 5-year survival rate can be up to 80-90%. However, if the tumor is already larger, in the range of 3-6cm, the ratio will decrease to 60%. In the case of tumors larger than 6cm, the rate of liver cancer patients surviving after 5 years is only 10-15%. If the size of the tumor is larger than 10cm, it is not possible to cure it, especially when the patient has symptoms of jaundice, yellow eyes. At that time, the goal of treatment can only be to prolong life and reduce pain.

3. How to cure liver cancer

If liver cancer is detected in time in the secondary stage, the patient can be prescribed treatment by the following methods:
3.1. Surgical resection Treatment of liver cancer by surgical resection applies to liver cancer in the early stages, when the malignant cells have only been localized to one part of the liver and the rest is still healthy.
3.2. Liver transplant If the malignancy occurs in both livers, or only on one side of the liver, but the other liver is also unwell, surgical resection cannot be performed, instead, surgical resection must be used. liver transplant, which means replacing the patient's entire liver with half a healthy liver from a donor. A liver transplant is the best treatment for cancer that has not spread outside.

3.3. Radiation therapy Radiation therapy for liver cancer uses high-intensity X-rays to destroy malignant cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy is often applied to localized, inoperable or postoperative tumors to destroy any remaining cancer cells after treatment.
At Vinmec International General Hospital, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and body positioning radiation therapy (SBRT) are applied. These are high-precision forms of radiation therapy that use multiple beams to deliver a high dose to the target tissue with a rapidly decreasing dose outside the target tissue, thereby minimizing the dose received from adjacent normal tissues. Multiple single trials and prospective series have demonstrated impressive results with liver radiotherapy, with 1-year survival rates ranging from 50-100% and local tumor control between 64-100%. These results are particularly encouraging because many cases include advanced-stage patients, patients with latent cirrhosis, and patients who have failed previous therapies.
3.4. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is a method of cancer treatment using drugs that have strong effects on liver cells..
If after 5 years of cancer treatment, the patient is still alive and the cancer has not recurred, then The patient is considered cured, because after this time, the cancer rarely recurs.
Liver cancer is considered an extremely dangerous disease, but the disease almost does not show any symptoms in the early stages. Therefore, we need to actively take care of and protect our liver every day through proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. In addition, it is advisable to periodically screen for liver cancer to detect early signs of the disease.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is currently providing a package of screening and early detection of liver cancer to help screen for liver cancer, detect liver cancer early to have an appropriate and effective treatment plan. results for the patient. Customers at high risk of liver cancer such as: a family history of liver cancer, viral or alcoholic cirrhosis, hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, alcoholism or frequent alcohol consumption. .. should go for regular liver cancer screening.
When registering for the Liver Cancer Screening and Early Detection Package, the patient will be directly examined by a specialist, tested for liver function assessment, screening for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and liver cancer. diagnostic imaging for malignant tumors. With a system of modern machinery and a team of highly qualified and experienced doctors, Vinmec is committed to the best protection for the health of patients.

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