Treatment options and recommendations depend on several factors: how much of the liver is affected by cancer, how much cancer has spread, patient preferences and general health. At this point, treatment objectives can focus on slowing down cancer growth and improving symptoms to improve the quality of life. Different treatment options against disease can be grouped depending on how they can cure cancer or improve survival. The main treatment options are:

Surgery

Surgery in oncology involves removing the tumor and healthy tissues around it during an operation. Surgery may not be an option if the tumor occupies too much of the liver, if the liver is too damaged, if the tumor has spread out of the liver or if the patient has other serious illnesses. Two types of surgery are used: hepatectomy (when a part of the liver is removed) or liver transplantation (this procedure is only possible when cancer has not spread out of the liver, an appropriate donor is found, and all the specific criteria are met in terms of size and number of tumors).

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy involves the use of high energy X-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells. Stereotactic radiotherapy is a term that describes several methods of delivering high doses of radiation to a tumor while limiting the amount of radiation to which healthy tissues are exposed. This is important because healthy liver tissue can be damaged by radiation.

Chemoembolization and radiolysis

Chemoembolization is a type of chemotherapy treatment similar to hepatic arterial perfusion. Chemotherapy involves using drugs to kill cancer cells, usually by stopping the ability of cancer cells to develop and divide. During this procedure, the drugs are injected into the liver artery and blood flow through the artery is blocked for a short period of time so that chemotherapy remains in the tumor longer. Blocking blood supply to the tumor destroys cancer cells. Radioembolization is similar to that of chemoembolization, except that during radio-bombardment a physician places radioactive sources in the artery that feeds the tumor into the blood.

Target therapy

Target therapy is treatment targeting cancer-specific genes, proteins, or tissue that contribute to cancer development. This type of treatment blocks the growth and spread of cancer cells while limiting the damage to healthy cells.