Liver cancer can be treated in a number of ways. The treatment options as recommended by a doctor would depend on several factors like the extent of damage caused to the liver, the possible damage to the cancer-free area within the liver, the extent to which cancer has spread within the liver and outside, and the overall health of the patient. Accordingly, here is an insight into some of the most common treatments for liver cancer as recommended by doctors:

Surgery

A disease-directed treatment that is recommended at an early stage of the disease, surgery for liver cancer involves removing the tumor as well as some surrounding healthy tissue. Performed by a surgical oncologist, surgery is often recommended for tumors that have not spread throughout the liver and can be removed safely without affecting normal liver function. The two common forms of surgery for the condition include hepatectomy and liver transplantation.

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) cancer involves heat to destroy the cancerous cells. The treatment is administered via laparoscopy through the skin or via surgical operation in which case it is called thermal ablation.

Percutaneous Ethanol Injection

In this method, alcohol is injected into the tumor in the liver to destroy it. A safe and simple procedure, it is effective to remove tumors less than 3 cm in size and can include mild side effects like pain and fever.

Radiation Therapy

This is one of the most effective treatments for liver cancer that makes use of high energy x-rays to destroy the cancer cells. A radiation oncologist administers this treatment.

Chemoembolization and radioembolization

Chemoembolization is a form of chemotherapy used to destroy the cancer cells in the liver. The drugs for the same are injected into the hepatic artery while the flow of blood through this artery is blocked to destroy the cancer cells or slow their growth.

In radioembolization, radioactive beads are used instead of drugs inside an artery that supplies blood to the tumor. The blood carries these beads directly into the tumor and kills it.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted Therapy is one of the finest treatments for liver cancer, which utilizes a drug that targets the environment within the body contributing to the growth of the cancer cells, including the proteins and specific genes. This treatment method allows the cancer cells to be targeted more specifically while leaving the healthy cells untouched.

These are some of the treatment options available for liver cancer. A doctor or cancer specialist will be the best person to guide a patient on the best possible method for treating the cancer cells in his/her liver.