Why does liver cancer recur? How to treat liver cancer after recurrence?

Once you have liver cancer, you must receive prompt treatment, and surgery is the preferred method for treating liver cancer. However, after liver cancer surgery, most patients will still experience recurrence. Why is liver cancer prone to recurrence? What are the characteristics of recurrent liver cancer? What should we do? Let's take a look!

Why does liver cancer recur? What are the characteristics of recurrence?

1. Compared with other tumors, liver cancer has a higher recurrence rate. Generally, the recurrence rate is about 45% three years after surgery, and about 65% five years after surgery.

2. Once liver cancer recurs, there are usually more than one lesion, and the recurrence will occur in multiple locations and liver segments. There are mainly two situations:

(1) Before liver cancer resection surgery, the tumor has already invaded other tissues, such as small blood vessels. Therefore, even if the visible tumor is removed, the cancer cells in the small blood vessels will still grow later, leading to recurrence.

(2) Some patients have a history of hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and some also have liver cirrhosis. In addition to obvious lumps, these patients also have many tiny lesions that are difficult to detect with the naked eye, which poses a hidden danger for later recurrence.

What should I do if liver cancer recurs after surgery?

1. Surgical resection:

Surgery can treat recurrent tumors, but because there are often multiple liver cancers after recurrence, it is difficult to remove a large area of ​​the liver or to remove it completely during another surgery. It also damages the patient's vitality, so it is rarely used.

2. Minimally invasive treatment:

(1) Hepatic artery chemoembolization (or transcatheter artery embolization)

This method involves inserting a tube from the femoral artery of the lower limb or the radial artery of the upper limb to the liver, blocking the artery that supplies the tumor. This will cause ischemia and necrosis of the tumor. At the same time, chemotherapy drugs are infused into the tumor through iodized oil, which can further kill tumor cells without affecting the surrounding normal liver tissue.

(2) Chemical ablation:

Under the guidance of professional instruments, such as CT, anhydrous alcohol is injected into the tumor lesion to accelerate the rate of cell dehydration and protein coagulation and deformation, thereby destroying cancer cells. This method is a relatively traditional method and is currently rarely used.

(3) Physical ablation

Including radiofrequency ablation and microwave ablation, which are also carried out under the guidance of B-ultrasound or CT, through the heat generated by the puncture needle to kill tumor cells.

2. Radiotherapy

Generally, radiotherapy can be considered as an adjuvant treatment for patients who are unable to undergo surgery or minimally invasive treatment.

From the above we can understand the causes and solutions of liver cancer recurrence. Although there are ways to solve the recurrence of liver cancer, the treatment effect is not as good as the first time. Therefore, in order to avoid the recurrence of liver cancer, you must choose a regular hospital during the first treatment and cooperate with the doctor in time and actively.