What is small liver cancer? How to treat small liver cancer best?

Small liver cancer generally refers to liver cancer in which the maximum diameter of a single cancer nodule in hepatocellular carcinoma does not exceed 3 cm or the sum of the diameters of two cancer nodules does not exceed 3 cm. Let's learn about the treatment of small liver cancer.

Surgery for small liver cancer:

At present, surgery is the first choice for the treatment of small liver cancer after diagnosis. The 5-year survival rate after resection of a 2 cm small liver cancer is 81.5%; while the 5-year survival rate of a 4.1-5.0 cm liver cancer drops to 59.5%. Therefore, for patients with compensated liver function, total bilirubin < 34 micromoles per liter, albumin/globulin not inverted, that is, A/G ratio > 0.6, and prothrombin time more than 50% of the normal value, we should strive to completely resect.

Radiotherapy for small liver cancer:

Conventional radiotherapy + precision radiotherapy is recommended for small cell lung cancer.

Precise Gamma Knife treatment: Gamma Knife can give the tumor area a very high radiation dose with very little damage to the normal tissue around the tumor, so the local control rate is high. Generally, CT scans are repeated every 1 to 3 months. The effective rate of liver cancer treatment is between 60% and 88.7%, and the effective rate of quality of life can reach 88.9%. From August 2000 to December 2006, the Radiotherapy Department of the Air Force General Hospital used body gamma knife to treat 148 cases of liver cancer of different stages. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 82.2%, 79.0%, and 49.6%, respectively. This fully demonstrates that body gamma knife can achieve a high local control rate and survival rate for early liver cancer that cannot be operated on, and has little side effects.

Chemotherapy for small cell liver cancer:

Chemotherapy alone is less effective in treating small liver cancers. Hepatic artery catheter embolization plus chemotherapy is a better choice. Absolute alcohol injection and radionuclide injection can be performed in the tumor under the guidance of abdominal ultrasound. In small liver cancers, radionuclide is easily distributed evenly in the tumor, and the killing effect on the cancer is thorough, the cancer volume is reduced, and the effect is better. It should be noted that since chemotherapy can bring strong toxic side effects to patients, Chinese medicine is needed to reduce the side effects of patients.