How to treat advanced liver cancer to prolong life? These treatments are very suitable for patients with advanced liver cancer

How to treat advanced liver cancer

The patient is a 64-year-old male with advanced liver cancer. The tumor is 16 cm in size and has metastasized. The portal vein and hepatic vein have been blocked by cancer cells. There is also metastasis in the lungs. He occasionally coughs, and only a small part of the liver is not affected. How should this situation be treated?

Judging from the above simple description, the clinical manifestations of this liver cancer patient are extremely atypical, and the symptoms are mostly not obvious, especially in the early stages of the disease.

Usually, about 70% of small liver cancers less than 5 cm are asymptomatic, and about 70% of asymptomatic subclinical liver cancers are small liver cancers. Once symptoms appear, it means that the tumor has become larger, and the disease progresses rapidly, usually showing cachexia within a few weeks, and often leading to exhaustion and death within a few months to a year.

For patients with advanced liver cancer that has metastasized and spread, especially those who are older, chemotherapy or radiotherapy has serious side effects. They can choose traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine selectively kills cancer cells without damaging normal cells, and helps restore the body's immunity. It can fight cancer without toxic side effects, can quickly improve clinical symptoms, improve and protect the body's immune function, can overall inhibit and directly kill cancer cells, and significantly inhibit the metastasis and spread of cancer cells.

Small liver cancer is relative to large liver cancer. Small liver cancer is also called subclinical liver cancer or early liver cancer. Usually, there are no symptoms, and physical examinations lack signs of the tumor itself, but liver cancer is accidentally discovered during liver disease follow-up or physical examinations. The standard for small liver cancer in my country is: the maximum diameter of a single cancer nodule does not exceed 3 cm; the number of multiple cancer nodules does not exceed two, and the sum of their maximum diameters should be less than 3 cm.

What is the best way to treat liver cancer?

1. Surgical treatment

The traditional treatment for liver cancer is surgical resection, but not all liver cancer patients are suitable for surgery. Only patients with good cardiopulmonary function, localized liver tumors, and no metastasis are suitable for surgery. In addition, most liver cancer patients in my country have a history of hepatitis and cirrhosis. Clinically, about 80% of patients cannot undergo surgery for various reasons.

2. Interventional treatment

It is also a commonly used method. So what are the limitations of this method? Liver cancer mainly relies on the hepatic artery for blood supply, but there is portal vein blood supply around the cancer mass, so cancer cells can "survive in peace". Even if the operation is super-selective and goes smoothly, due to reasons such as high-pressure injection, it can cause thrombosis, shunt and inevitable micro-metastasis; some patients have blood vessels blocked after one treatment, making it difficult to operate again. Disadvantages of interventional treatment: 1. Liver cancer mainly relies on the hepatic artery for blood supply, but there is portal vein blood supply around the cancer mass, so cancer cells can "survive in peace". 2. The operation is difficult. The catheter should be super-selectively entered into the blood supply artery for better efficacy, but sometimes it is difficult to enter the hepatic artery. Some liver cancers can be supplied by multiple blood vessels. 3. Despite super-selective entry, there are still obvious side effects. According to the data analysis of our hospital, the digestive tract reaction is the most. 4. Patients with portal vein cancer thrombus should consider or remove the cancer thrombus as appropriate. 5. Even if the operation is super-selective and goes smoothly, due to reasons such as high-pressure injection, it can cause thrombosis, shunt and inevitable micro-metastasis. 6. There is still damage to normal liver cells, and a few patients even have liver dysfunction. 7. The effect is not satisfactory for patients with large tumors. 8. Some patients have blood vessels blocked after one treatment, making it difficult to operate again.