What is the best way to treat liver cancer? A detailed explanation of the ultrasonic interventional treatment method for liver cancer

Liver cancer refers to malignant tumors that occur in the liver, including primary liver cancer and metastatic liver cancer. When people talk about liver cancer, they are mostly referring to primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in clinical practice. According to the latest statistics, there are about 600,000 new liver cancer patients in the world each year, ranking fifth among malignant tumors.

The surgical resection rate for larger, mid- to late-stage liver cancers is only about 5%-10%, and the surgical mortality rate is over 10%. The surgical resection rate for smaller "subclinical liver cancers" or "small liver cancers" is only 60%. In addition, patients have to endure tremendous surgical pain and costs in traditional treatments.

With the rapid development of imaging technology, ultrasound-interventional microwave thermal ablation therapy under image guidance or monitoring has obvious therapeutic effects on liver cancer.

Using the clear image of ultrasound, non-invasive and radiation-free, and real-time direct monitoring, a special treatment needle is used to puncture the skin into the tumor for local treatment. One method is to inject hardeners such as anhydrous alcohol and glacial acetic acid to coagulate necrotic liver cancer tissue. Another method is to use the thermal effect of microwave needles, which actually uses the same principle as microwave ovens to make the local liver cancer tissue reach a temperature of 42-100℃ within a few minutes, scalding the cancer tissue to death. At the same time, chemotherapy drugs are injected through the skin through the portal vein to achieve the effect of local chemotherapy in the liver. The combination of these methods allows most liver cancers of all stages that cannot be treated surgically to be effectively treated.

The biggest feature of this minimally invasive treatment method is that it has little trauma and little impact on the patient's whole body. The ideal treatment for liver cancer is to "kill all" the tumor while protecting the body from as little damage as possible, which is the clinical difficulty. 85% of liver cancer patients in my country have cirrhosis, which causes a series of serious problems, severely limits surgical resection, and makes treatment very difficult. Therefore, while treating the tumor, it is necessary to emphasize the protection of the liver, the safety of the treatment method, and the patient's body tolerance. Moreover, some patients with liver cancer in special locations, multiple tumors, and liver metastases often cannot undergo surgery or cannot completely remove the cancer. However, comprehensive treatment with ultrasound intervention can still achieve good results, at least it can also achieve the effect of tumor reduction, so as to achieve symbiosis with cancer, prolong life, and improve the quality of life. Secondly, minimally invasive ablation treatment also greatly reduces the pain and cost of patients and is easy for patients to accept. Curing liver cancer without surgery is no longer a dream but a reality.