Primary liver cancer is cancer that starts in the liver. The most common type of primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and develops from hepatocytes, or cells within the liver.
However, cancer can also spread to the liver from other areas of the body. This is known as metastatic or secondary liver cancer and is common with cases of colorectal, breast, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, lung and kidney cancers, as well as melanoma skin cancers.
What are my liver cancer treatment options?
The surgical removal of liver tumors is recommended as the best chance for a cure. This is called partial hepatectomy. However, for many patients, liver tumors can be too large to remove surgically, too small and spread throughout the liver, or they may have grown into major blood vessels or other vital structures making surgery too risky. In fact, surgical removal of liver tumors may not be possible for over 66% of patients with primary cancers and more than 90% of patients with cancer that has metastasized to the liver (secondary liver cancer).
Liver transplant is another option for patients with this type of cancer. This involves the removal and replacement of the diseased liver with a healthy donor liver. However, only a small percentage of patients qualify for liver transplant surgery, as only those with early-stage cancer are eligible.
Minimally invasive, localized treatments are now available from North Star Vascular & Interventional to treat liver cancer when surgery or transplant are not possible or practical.
Also known as “Interventional Oncology,” these are a series of treatment options performed by the North Star team inside the body using tiny catheters and devices. The benefit to these options is that they deliver therapy directly into the liver tumors while sparing surrounding, healthy tissue.