On average, about 40,000 Americans will be diagnosed with liver cancer each year. According to the American Cancer Society, liver cancer incidence rates have more than tripled since 1980, while the death rates have more than doubled during this time.
Even when the cancer spreads to other areas of the body, it is still called liver cancer if that is where it started. Many times when cancer is found in the liver it did not start there but has spread from somewhere else in the body, such as the pancreas, colon, stomach, breast or lung. If the cancer has spread from its original (primary) site, it is called a secondary liver cancer or a metastatic cancer from the area in which it originated.
The most common form of liver cancer in adults is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatocellular cancers can have different growth patterns: Some begin as a single tumor that grows larger. Only late in the disease does it spread to other parts of the liver. A second type seems to start as many small cancer nodules throughout the liver, not just a single tumor. This is seen most often in people with cirrhosis (chronic liver damage) and is the most common pattern seen in the United States.
About 10% to 20% of cancers that start in the liver are intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. These cancers start in the cells that line the small bile ducts (tubes that carry bile to the gallbladder) within the liver.
Angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma are rare cancers that originate in the blood vessels of the liver.
A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like your age or family history, can’t be changed.
But having a risk factor, or even several risk factors does not mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get the disease may have few or no known risk factors. For liver cancer, risk factors include:
Treatment options for liver cancer depend on several factors such as the stage of the cancer, the location of the tumor, the patient's overall health and their preferences. Here are some common treatment options:
Surgery: The best option to cure liver cancer is with either surgical resection (removal of the tumor with surgery) or a liver transplant.
Ablation: Ablation is treatment that destroys liver tumors without removing them. These techniques can be used in patients with a few small tumors and when surgery is not a good option (often because of poor health or reduced liver function). These treatments are also sometimes used in patients waiting for a liver transplant.
Embolization Therapy: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or radioembolization blocks blood supply to the tumor.
Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation can kill cancer cells as well as regular cells, so the goal of this therapy is to maximize the radiation dose to the cancer cells and minimize the dose to the healthy cells.
Targeted Therapy: Targeted therapy drugs work by targeting specific abnormalities within cancer cells. Because standard chemotherapy is not very effective in most patients with liver cancer, doctors are focusing more on using targeted therapies.
Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy is the use of medicines that help a person’s own immune system find and destroy cancer cells. It can be used to treat some people with liver cancer.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy (chemo) is treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemo may be an option for people whose liver cancer cannot be treated with surgery, has not responded to local therapies such as ablation or embolization, or when targeted therapy is no longer helpful.
Summa Health has a team of physicians who specialize in liver care, including diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. To make an appointment, call 330.434.5978.
