Liver Cancer Treatment

If you or someone you love has liver cancer, you can feel confident turning to Henry Ford Health System. Henry Ford has one of the largest cancer centers in Michigan. More than 14,000 cancer patients are seen here each year, and more than 15% of all people in southeastern Michigan diagnosed with cancer are treated here.

We are also proud of being one of the first in the region to offer many ground breaking treatments and revolutionary approaches. For instance, Henry Ford is a regional leader for liver transplantation and liver cancer treatment. In fact, Henry Ford was the first in Michigan to perform many new procedures to treat liver cancer, including laparoscopy and radiofrequency ablation.

Our team of liver specialists realizes that the liver is a very complex organ, and liver cancer treatment is highly specialized. It is only natural for patients and families to have many concerns and questions. That is why we have responded here to some of the most common questions about liver cancer.

What does the liver do and why is it so important?

Located inside the right side of the rib cage, just under the heart, the liver is a remarkable system; it is more complex than any organ other than the brain. It is the body's chemical-processing plant, changing food into nutrients and filtering out harmful substances. Almost every ounce of blood that flows out of the digestive system passes through the filtering system of the liver. Here are just a few of the functions the liver performs:

Converting nutrients into energy, hormones and other essential chemicals.
Cleansing toxic substances (including alcohol) from the blood, then neutralizing or rerouting them for disposal.
Processing drugs.
Storing vitamins, minerals, sugars and iron.
Regulating fat and cholesterol.
Manufacturing bile -- a fluid that helps digest food.

In fact, the liver performs so many important body functions that we could not live without it. That is why liver cancer poses such a serious threat.

What is liver cancer?

The cells in our bodies are meant to grow to a certain point and then stop. For example, a child's liver cells grow until they form an adult-size liver. In adults, existing cells create new cells only to replace worn-out tissue or to repair injuries.

Sometimes this process of orderly cell growth goes wrong. For different reasons, cells can begin to increase out of control. In some instances, enough extra cells accumulate to form a lump called a tumor. As tumors get bigger, they can destroy tissue and organs, and may even interfere with the body's process. This abnormal growth process is known as cancer, and when it starts in the liver, it is called liver cancer.

There are four main types of liver cancer:

Hepatocellular carcinoma: This tumor begins in the main type of liver cells, known as the hepatocytes. It is the most common form of tumor, accounting for approximately 84% of liver cancers.
Cholangiocarcinoma: Sometimes known as Klatskin, this tumor begins in the bile ducts and accounts for approximately 13% of liver cancers.
Angiosarcoma: This is a rare type of cancer that starts in the blood vessels of the liver.
Hepatoblastoma: Another rare type of liver cancer which affects primarily young children.

Cancers are named for the parts of the body in which they begin. Only a cancer that begins in the liver is called liver cancer or a primary liver cancer.

The majority of cancerous tumors are metastases, which means they have spread from other parts of the body. A cancer that spreads to the liver from somewhere else in the body is called secondary livery cancer. The liver is particularly vulnerable to secondary cancers, since its main job is to filter blood that may bring in cancer cells from elsewhere in the body. Secondary liver cancer occurs twenty times more often than primary liver cancer in the United States. The most common sources are cancers of the rectum, colon, lung, breast, pancreas and skin.

Who's at risk for liver cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society, there will be about 15,300 new cases of primary liver cancer and about 13,800 people will die of the disease in the United States this year alone.

Although we don't know exactly what triggers liver cancer, there are groups that appear to have a higher risk than others:

Liver cancer is more common in men than women
People over 40
People with other liver problems, especially cirrhosis (which is associated with 50-70% of all malignant liver tumors in the U.S.), hepatitis B and hepatitis C
Heavy drinkers
Smokers
People with cancer in another area of the body

What are the symptoms of liver cancer?

Since there are seldom any symptoms in the early stages and many types of liver cancer grow very quickly, it is difficult to detect liver cancer early. However, when they present, liver cancers symptoms are much like the symptoms of other liver problems, such as cirrhosis and hepatitis:

Pain or swelling in the upper right abdomen
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)

Its important to note that these could also be symptoms of another illness. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should report them to your doctor right away.

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms; look at your skin and eyes; check your abdomen for signs that your liver is swollen or tender; and check for signs of weight loss, malnutrition and weakness. However, a definite diagnosis of liver cancer will depend on a variety of medical tests, including:

Blood tests for anemia and liver functions;
An ultrasound examination, which uses sound waves to produce images of internal organs on a screen;
A CT scan (a computed tomography also known as a CAT scan), which uses specialized x-rays to create detailed, cross-sectional views of internal organs;
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) another technique based on a computer analysis to create a detailed image of the body and its organs;
A biopsy involves removing a tiny piece of liver tissue with a needle through the skin and then sending it to a lab for testing.
A laparoscopy is a method for looking directly at the liver. A doctor uses a thin tube placed inside the body through a small incision in the front of the stomach to see the liver and other organs. Henry Ford was the first health system in Michigan to introduce this procedure.

Liver Cancer Treatment

If liver cancer is diagnosed early enough, treatment is often successful, especially if the patient does not also have cirrhosis of the liver.

There are several options for the liver cancer treatment:

Surgery, especially if the cancer has been detected early; if detected late, tumors are often too large to be safely removed;
Chemotherapy (medication) to fight the cancer;
Radiation;
A combination of two or three of the above;
Radiofrequency ablation -- a new technique that uses heat to destroy liver tumors.
Cryosurgery, cold is used to destroy the tumor;
Liver transplantation