Liver cancer or hepatic cancer is a cancer which starts in the liver organ. It called as liver metastasis if the cancer originates in another organ travels and grows in the liver
The first goal of liver cancer treatment is to remove the cancer totally. When that is not possible, the goal may be on maintaining the symptoms and blocking the tumor from spreading.
Treatments for liver cancer depend on the size of the tumor, patient age, health and other personal preferences. Below are tree of non surgical liver cancer treatments
1. Cryoablation
Cryoablation treatment uses an extremely cold gas to freeze the tumor. The cold gas is delivered directly into the tumor by a probe that is inserted through the skin. The “ice ball” that is developed around the needle grows in size and destroys the frozen tumor cells without the need for an operation.
2. Monoclonal antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that recognize certain part of cancer cells. They bind onto the receptor, and depending on the drug, can kill cancer cells in different ways.
Cetuximab can be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat colon cancer that has spread to the liver and Trastuzumab can be used to treat breast cancer that has spread to the liver.
3. Targeted therapy
The focus of targeted therapy is to targets the specific proteins, genes, or the tissue environment that support the cancer growth. Anti-angiogenic drugs are a type of this non surgical liver cancer treatment that can block the formation of new blood vessels that are needed for a tumor to spread and grow.
