Liver cancer begins within the cells of your liver. Several types of cancer can form in the liver. One of the most common types is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in the main type of liver cell (hepatocyte). Other types, such as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma, are less common.
Cancer that spreads to the liver is more common than cancer that originates inside the liver cells. Cancer that begins in another part of the body such as the colon, lung or breast and then spreads to the liver is called metastatic liver cancer. This type of cancer is named after the organ from which it starts to spread such as metastatic colon cancer to describe cancer that begins in the colon and spreads to the liver.
Common Symptoms of Liver Cancer
The symptoms may not occur at an early stage but when they appear they may include,
- Losing weight without trying
- Loss of appetite
- Upper abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- General weakness and fatigue
- Abdominal swelling
- White, chalky stools
Commonly Used Methods for Treatment of Liver Cancer
The treatment of liver cancer depends on the tumour size, location, stage of cancer and presence of cirrhosis. Treatment methods may depend from patient to patient depending on their condition. Some treatment options include:
- Surgery: It involves the removal of the tumour by surgical method
- Liver transplant: This is the best treatment option for treating liver cancer if replacement is available.
- Chemotherapy: In this method, the drug is given in the form of pills or intravenously to kill cancer cells.
- Radiotherapy: This method uses high-energy x-rays on parts that consist of cancerous cells and destroy these cells.
Treatment of Liver Cancer by Chemotherapy
Liver cancer can be successfully treated with chemotherapy or a combination of treatments. Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body, usually cancer cells.
It works by preventing cancer cells from growing, dividing, and creating more cells. Many different chemotherapy drugs are available. To treat a wide variety of liver cancer chemotherapy drugs are used alone or in combination.
It can be used after other treatments such as surgery to kill remaining cancer cells which is called adjuvant therapy. It can also be used before surgery or radiation therapy for reducing the size of the tumour, this is called neoadjuvant therapy.
Chemotherapy is used to relieve signs and symptoms of cancer by killing some of the cancer cells which is called palliative chemotherapy.
Cost of liver cancer Treatment
The liver cancer treatment cost in India may differ from hospital to hospital depending on the treatment method. This cost includes different factors which include a blood test, CT scan, type of treatment, patient’s health condition, doctor fees, hospital fees and others.
Non-surgical treatment methods in India are more cost-effective than surgical methods. The liver cancer treatment cost in India may differ from Rs.1,50,000 to Rs. 4,00,000.
To get more information and answers for the best liver cancer treatment by chemotherapy in India, visit www. cancerrounds.com