This cancer begins in the liver. Some of cancers start somewhere else in the body and spread to the liver, however, doctors call it liver cancer when the origin of it is the liver itself. Your liver is located below your right lung under the ribcage. The liver is one of the largest organs in the body which performs multiple functions, removing toxins from the body is one of the functions of the liver.
In this article on liver cancer, we will know about the symptoms of liver cancer, diagnosis, stages and treatment options for liver cancer treatment in India.
Symptoms of Liver Cancer
The symptoms of liver cancer are not seen in the early stage of the disease, in most of the cases, symptoms are seen in patients who are in advance stage of this disease.
Below mentioned are some of the symptoms of liver cancer:
- Jaundice
- Pain in the abdomen
- Pain in the right shoulder region
- Unintentional weight loss of the body
- Enlarged spleen or liver or both
- Abdominal swelling
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Pain in the back
- Itching
- High Temperatures
- Feeling of full after little food intake
Diagnosis of Liver Cancer;
Early diagnosis highly increases the chances of cure and survival for patients suffering from liver cancer. Specialists generally ask about the patient’s medical history to rule out the risk factors followed by a physical examination focusing on abdominal swelling and checking for the signs of jaundice which causes yellowing of the eyes and the skin. Both of them are important indicators of liver disorders in a patient.
In case a doctor suspects CA Liver, they may prescribe further tests for confirming the diagnosis.
The tests may include the following:
Blood Tests: The blood tests are done to see blood clotting, counts of other substances in the blood and ration of RBC, WBC and platelets in the body.
Viral Hepatitis Tests: Checking of hepatitis B and C is also very important.
Imaging Scans: MRI Scan or a CT scan may clearly reveal the size and spread of the disease.
Biopsy: A Surgeon may decide to a biopsy in which a small portion of the tissue is taken from liver, it is sent to laboratory to see if the disease is cancerous of non-cancerous.
Laparoscopy: This procedure is done to see the liver and surrounding regions, doctors use a long flexible tube which has a camera and light system to show clear images of the area.
Stages of Liver Cancer;
To achieve better outcomes of the treatment, Cancer specialists stage liver cancer. The stage ranges from 0-4, below mentioned are the parameters for staging of liver cancer.
Stage 1: The Tumor is localized which means it is only in the liver.
Stage 2: Either there are a number of small tumors in the liver or one of the tumors has reached to blood vessels.
Stage 3: There is the presence of a number of large tumors in the liver or one of the tumor has gone to main large blood vessel in the body.
Stage 4: In this cancer, disease is metastasized which means it has spread to other parts of the body.
Once your doctor a confirm diagnoses with stage of the cancer, the team of doctors will make a final treatment plan for your liver cancer treatment.
What Are The Treatments Of Liver Cancer?
In patients suffering from liver cancer a surgery which completely removes the tumors is the only way to increase the chance of cure for patients with treatable and early-stage liver cancer disease.
Surgical Procedure May Include The Following;
Partial Hepatectomy; In the cases with tumor in the liver being small, occupy limited area of liver, a surgeon can decide to remove only this part of the organ to stop the spread and the growth of the cancer.
Liver Transplant; Patients who are candidates for a liver transplant (LTP)should have a tumor smaller than 5 cms in size or a number of tumors smaller than 3 cm each. Otherwise, the chances of cancer recurrence is too high to justify a high risk liver transplant surgery. A successful liver transplant may reduce the chances & risk of disease returning and helps in restoring the normal function of the liver.
