What is multifocal liver disease?

This is an automatically translated article.

Multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma is a condition in which several liver tumors appear at the same time. These tumors vary in size and shape and are spread across the surface of the liver.

1. What is a multifocal liver tumor?

Multifocal liver tumors may be a strange concept to many people. But in fact, this is a fairly common disease that causes many dangers and harms to the health of patients as well as a pain of medicine. Once infected with this disease, the mortality rate is very high.
Multifocal liver tumor is a liver condition where many tumors appear at the same time with many tumors on the liver, with different sizes and shapes and easily spreading throughout the liver. These tumors can be located in many locations in the liver, making it very difficult to treat.
Usually the symptoms of multifocal liver tumors are not obvious in the early stages. Patients can only discover the disease by chance or know they have the disease when it has progressed to a severe stage. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly get a health check when the body has abnormal signs such as: , accompanied by symptoms of anorexia due to digestive disorders.

Trắc nghiệm: Làm thế nào để bảo vệ lá gan khỏe mạnh?

Làm test trắc nghiệm kiểm tra hiểu biết về gan có thể giúp bạn nhận thức rõ vai trò quan trọng của gan, từ đó có các biện pháp bảo vệ gan để phòng ngừa bệnh tật.

Cảm sốt, mệt mỏi, gan to, vàng da, chán ăn là những triệu chứng bất thường cần phải đi khám ngay
Cảm sốt, mệt mỏi, gan to, vàng da, chán ăn là những triệu chứng bất thường cần phải đi khám ngay

2. Are multifocal liver tumors dangerous?

The severity of multifocal liver tumors depends on whether the tumor is benign or malignant. If the liver tumor is malignant, it will grow quickly but it is difficult to control, rapidly developing not only in liver cells but also metastasized to other parts such as stomach, pancreas, lungs, large intestine ..
When the disease is detected at an early stage, the treatment will be effective, but if detected too late, when the tumor has metastasized to other parts, the prognosis will be very severe. The patient has a very high risk of death. Depending on the disease status and resistance of the patient, the survival time of each patient is different. Some people only live for a period of a few months to half a year from the time of diagnosis. Therefore, we must not be subjective before the symptoms of this disease.

3. How to treat multifocal liver tumors currently being applied

Due to the complexity of the disease, there is currently no cure for this disease. Treatments only help prevent the disease from developing, the risk of recurrence is still very high. Depending on the condition, the doctor will prescribe different treatment methods. Usually, the following measures are applied:
3.1. Usually, this method is only performed for patients with tumor size less than 5 cm and not much invasive on liver cells. Currently, laparoscopic liver resection can be used. Although it is a technique that requires more modern machines and highly specialized doctors, if successfully implemented, it will bring many benefits to patients. The small incisions on the abdominal wall should reduce postoperative pain and early recovery time.
3.2. Radiofrequency ablation With radiofrequency ablation, the doctor will use a thin metal rod called an electrode through the skin to reach the liver. The doctor then sends radio waves through the metal rod to burn off the tumor. This method is especially suitable for small tumors, new patients in the early stages of the disease, high efficiency and few complications.

Đốt khối u bằng sóng cao tần
Đốt khối u bằng sóng cao tần
3.3. Chemotherapy This method is often applied to cases where the tumor has progressed to the metastatic stage.
With this method, the doctor will conduct chemicals into the body through an artery. Thanks to that, the cancer cells are destroyed, and at the same time, the blood vessels are blocked, preventing the tumor from having a chance to grow. But at the same time the cancer cells are destroyed, the body's antibodies are also destroyed. Therefore, using this method will make the patient's health deteriorate quickly.
3.4. Selective hepatic angiography (TACE) Embolization Methods of selective hepatic artery occlusion TACE include the injection of chemotherapy drugs into one or more branches of the hepatic artery. In addition, granules that block blood vessels are also injected.
TACE method helps to accurately select the blood vessels feeding the tumor to perform the occlusion pump, in order to minimize the impact on the remaining healthy liver parenchyma. Tumors have clearly absorbed the drug, the blood vessels feeding the tumor are completely blocked, the remaining blood vessels circulate well and are not blocked. This method is often indicated for liver cancer patients with multiple tumors, multifocal liver tumors, large tumors or many small unresectable tumors.
However, TACE does not cure the root cause but only prolongs the patient's life. In addition to resection of the tumor, a liver transplant is possible, but the success rate of surgery is usually not high. At the same time, the possibility of finding a suitable liver donor is very low.
Liver diseases do not always show obvious signs. The liver plays an extremely important role because it not only filters the blood, but also produces hormones to store energy. Therefore, in order to limit the progression of liver failure, patients need to have regular health checkups, and at the same time need to follow the instructions of the doctor to achieve the best treatment effect.
The Hepatobiliary Screening Package implemented by Vinmec International General Hospital will check, monitor and evaluate your liver health status on your behalf. With a team of doctors who are highly qualified and experienced experts, with the support of advanced machinery systems, professional services, customers when participating in the package will enjoy medical benefits. The best health care, comprehensive protection of liver and gallbladder health for yourself and your loved ones.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

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