American Liver Society

Treatment Options for Adult Primary Liver Cancer

Localized Resectable Adult Primary Liver Cancer
Localized and Locally Advanced Unresectable Adult Primary Liver Cancer
Advanced Adult Primary Liver Cancer
Recurrent Adult Primary Liver Cancer

Localized Resectable Adult Primary Liver Cancer

Treatment of localized resectable adult primary liver cancer may include the following:

Surgery (partial hepatectomy).
Surgery (total hepatectomy) and liver transplant.
A clinical trial of regional or systemic chemotherapy or biologic therapy following surgery.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.

Localized and Locally Advanced Unresectable Adult Primary Liver Cancer

Treatment of localized and locally advanced unresectable adult primary liver cancer may include the following:

Chemotherapy (regional chemotherapy or chemoembolization).
Surgery (cryosurgery or radiofrequency ablation).
Surgery (total hepatectomy) and liver transplant.
Percutaneous ethanol injection.
Radiation therapy with radiosensitizers.
A clinical trial of regional or systemic chemotherapy and/or radiolabeled antibodies.
A clinical trial of a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Hyperthermia therapy may also be used. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be used to shrink the tumor before surgery.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.

Advanced Adult Primary Liver Cancer

There is no standard treatment for advanced adult primary liver cancer. Patients may consider taking part in a clinical trial. Treatment may be a clinical trial of biologic therapy, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy with or without radiosensitizers. These treatments may be given as palliative therapy to help relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.

This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.

Recurrent Adult Primary Liver Cancer

Treatment of recurrent adult primary liver cancer may include the following:

Surgery (partial hepatectomy).
Surgery (total hepatectomy) and liver transplant.
Chemotherapy (chemoembolization or systemic chemotherapy).
Percutaneous ethanol injection.
A clinical trial of a new therapy.

Changes to This Summary (05/18/2004)

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/adult-primary-liver/Patient/page5

About the American Liver Society