Liver cancer treatment depends on your over all state of health and on how advanced the cancer is.
Primary liver cancer (cancer that starts in the liver) is rare in Britain.  More men than women are affected and about 2,500 cases are diagnosed per year.   However, unfortunately secondary liver cancer (cancers which start elsewhere but spread to the liver) is far more common.  Cancerous tumors can start in many organs of the body such as lungs, breasts or bowel for example, and then can spread (metastasize) to the liver.  This is also known as metastatic liver cancer.

Treatments vary depending on whether the cancer has metastasized and where it is located in the body.  Side effects are caused by all treatments and full knowledge of each treatment is important before proceeding.  Treatment for patients with secondary liver cancer will depend on where the original cancer has spread from. 

Medical professionals are researching new drugs to try and increase liver cancer life expectancy.  So far, surgery is the best treatment for liver cancer and can provide the only possible cure.  Unfortunately however, less than one in three people who have cancer of the liver can have surgery to excise it because it is likely is has spread or is too large.  Stage 4 liver cancer is when the tumor has spread to other organs or lymph nodes and it can be of any size.

That said, if it is possible, there are several different surgeries available namely, a lobectomy which removes a whole lobe of the liver, a liver resection when only the cancerous part of the liver is taken away and a whole liver transplant where the liver in its entirety is removed and replaced with another healthy human liver.  An extremely small amount of patients are eligible for a replacement however.

The liver has an incredible capacity to repair itself and if a resection or lobectomy is performed, within a few weeks only, it can grow back to its normal size even if as much as 80% is taken away.

Other treatments include ethanol injections, (an alcoholic liquid which kills cancer cells) is another possible treatment if the cancer is small.  Treatment is localized and injected straight into the skin directly in the cancerous area.  In each injection session there may be one or two injections and the amount of sessions needed depends on the size of the tumor and how many there are.

Chemotherapy is unfortunately not very good at treating liver cancer, however chemoembolization could be more effective.  Chemotherapy uses medicines injected into an artery or vein which destroys cancer cells, shrinks tumors and reduces the symptoms they cause.  Chemoembolization uses these medicines and combines them with lipiodol, an oily substance which assists chemotherapy drugs to stay longer in the liver and so having a better effect.  Additionally, very small amounts of gel are injected into the surrounding area which starves the tumor of its essential blood supply and so killing it.

Radio frequency ablation destroys cancer cells using heat from radiowaves.  A narrow needle is inserted into the tumor acting as a vehicle for radiowaves to be passed down to kill the cancerous cells.

Radiotherapy seeks to kill cancer cells but unfortunately leads to damage of healthy liver cells and so, it is not usually used.
Liver cancer symptoms include swollen abdomen, loss of appetite, weight loss, sickness, jaundice and fatigue but it is likely in the early stages that no symptoms will be detected.

Mesothelioma cancer is a totally different type of cancer and caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms can be general like, shortness of breath, chest pain and a persistent cough.

Unfortunately, the liver cancer survival rate is low with the three-year survival rate being less than 5%.  Liver cancer prognosis is affected by various factors such as whether the cancer has spread.  Adults have a poorer outlook as their cancer is usually diagnosed too late.  When symptoms occur, the disease is usually in advanced stages.  Only 10% of patients are diagnosed in the early stages which is when surgery, the most effective form of liver cancer treatment, can help.
 

Stage 4 lung cancer can means 3 things namely, that the cancer has spread to both lungs; it has spread to another area of the body like the bones or liver; it has lead to a collection of fluid around the heart or lung containing cancerous cells. This is called a pericardial effusion (heart) or malignant pleural effusion (lungs).

 

Pleural effusion is when fluid builds up between pleura or membranes that surround the outside of each lung. When the lungs expand and contract with breathing, the fluid takes up the space making it extremely hard to breath using a full lung capacity therefore resulting in breathlessness. When fluid is extracted, it is tested for cancer cells and if detected this is considered lung cancer stage 4. The presence of fluid does not necessarily mean the cancer has spread and if the fluid does not contain cancerous cell this does not count towards the 4^th stage of cancer. Pleural effusion is just one of the several factors that medical professionals consider when deciding the stage.

 

Stage 4 lung cancer prognosis and treatment depends largely on the stage, the histological type of cancer and the patient’s performance status (a measure of the general well being and therefore tolerance to treatment). The most likely treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

 

There are two main types of lung cancer – small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The treatment varies depending on which one is diagnosed so the distinction is important. Stage 4 lung cancer life expectancy varies greatly from person to person such as:

patient’s age – younger patients are more likely to live longer than older patients.

 

type of lung cancer and its location – within stage 4 there are several types of lung cancer which may have stayed in one place or spread to one or several locations.

 

general health when diagnosed – those with good all round health are expected to live longer. Survival can be extended with the ability to stand up to treatments.

 

sex of the patient – female sufferers have a higher life expectancy at each stage of lung cancer.

 

response to treatments – people respond differently to the side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapies. If there is a low tolerance to these side effects then treatment could be limited.

 

lung cancer complications such as blood clots can reduce life expectancy.

 

additional health conditions for example, asthma or emphysema.

 

Statistically, the life expectancy of stage 4 NSCLC is sadly only about 8 months. The five year lung cancer survival rate (the amount of patients expected to live to five years after a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer) is less than 10%. However, bear in mind that although lung cancer is not usually curable but it is treatable.

 

Staging cancer helps doctors assess the extent that a cancer has spread. Scans and tests carried out to help diagnose the cancer provide information about the stage however, an operation maybe the only way to obtain a definitive answer. But, in the majority of cases, the tests are adequate enough.

All cancer staging is determined by several factors namely, whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the size of the tumor and whether it has moved to other areas of the body.

 

There are a variety of tests. A CT scan looks though section of the body using x-rays. Or a combined PET-CT scan gives in depth pictures of the body’s structures and uses a slightly radioactive dye which focuses on areas where there is abnormal activity in cell growth.

 

A bronchoscopy test uses a flexible, narrow tube which is inserted into the nose or throat down into the windpipe. This is normally carried out under local anesthetic however, a sedative or general anesthetic is sometimes used.

 

A tumor biopsy test involves the insertion of a very fine needle into the lung through the skin. The patient holds their breath while this is taking place and only takes a two to three minutes. The collected cells are then taken for examination.

 

Lung cancer can be caused by various factors such as tobacco smoke (most common cause), radon gas, genetic factors, air pollution (including second had tobacco smoke) and asbestos. Asbestos exposure leads to a rarer kind of cancer called mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma symptoms can be general such as chest pain, shortness of breath and a persistent cough. There are two types namely, malignant mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma.

 

So, stage 4 lung cancer is a serious disease however, advances in treatments and new clinical trials are aiming to reduce the symptoms and help to improve survival.