Metastatic Liver Cancer Prognosis Life Expectancy
Metastatic liver cancer prognosis life expectancy - Liver metastases are a tumor that has spread into the liver from other areas of the body. Cancer cells often have aggressive tendencies and will attack other areas of the body. Usually, they do it by floating in the blood and then repeating themselves to a new place. The liver, in particular, provides a fertile ground for the spread of metastases due to the rich supply of blood and the presence of humoral factors (other bodily fluids) that promote cell growth. As for the blood flow per minute, the blood intake of the liver is second only to the lungs. The risk of spreading cancer to the liver depends on the location of original cancer.
For example, gastrointestinal cancer often spreads in the liver, because blood flows directly through the liver. Melanoma usually spreads through the blood vessels of the body in the liver. Liver metastases sometimes occur when the original (primary) cancer is diagnosed or may occur several months or years after removal of the primary tumor.
After the lymph nodes, the liver is the most common place for metastatic spread. Most liver metastases come from the large intestine, rectum, pancreas, stomach, esophagus, breast, lungs, melanoma and a few less frequent sites. See also: how fast does secondary liver cancer progress?
Most liver metastases present multiple tumors. Only 10% of all cases exhibit solitary metastatic lesions. In addition, in more than three quarters (3/4) of patients with liver metastases, both hepatic lobes are involved. Several factors influence the incidence and model of liver metastases. This includes the patient's age and gender, the main place, the histological type and the duration of the tumor. In some types of tumors, such as colon carcinoma, Carcinoid and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), metastasis is limited to the liver. Metastatic liver cancer prognosis life expectancy - Most tumors that metastasize to the liver, such as breast and lung cancer, spread to other places at the same time.
Metastatic Liver Cancer Prognosis Life Expectancy
How well the patient depends on the location of the original cancer and how much is spreading to the liver. In a small number of cases the surgical procedure to remove the liver tumor can cause healing. This is usually only possible in patients with certain types of tumors (for example, in colorectal carcinoma) and when there are many tumors in the liver. In many cases, the cancer that has spread to the liver cannot cure it. The treatment mentioned above, however, can help reduce tumors, increase life expectancy and relieve symptoms.
How to metastatic liver cancer treatment? In the past, liver metastases were generally considered inoperable and treated only with palliative measures. Recently, however, there has been a paradigm shift in the treatment of liver metastases. Aggressive surgical resection followed by chemotherapy is now used in a particular group of patients. Even for tumors that cannot be operated, the modalities of treatment, such as ablation through Radio (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) have a great promise to improve survival. See also: cancer spread to liver how long to live?
Metastatic liver cancer prognosis life expectancy - Treatment depends on the type of place of primary cancer, the rate of spread in the liver (eg a tumor vs. many tumors) if the cancer has spread to other organs besides the liver and the general condition of the patient. When the spread is limited to the liver, systemic chemotherapy can still be used. However, other treatment methods can be effective. When the tumor is only in a few areas of the liver, the cancer can be surgically removed.
When cancer has spread into the liver and other organs, the whole body chemotherapy (systemic) is usually the treatment of choice. Radio frequency waves or injecting toxic substances may also be used. When a larger area of the liver is involved, treatment may involve direct chemotherapy to the liver or a procedure for blocking blood flow to the liver (embolization) to "clog" the tumor cells.
The figures below originate from the database of the National Institute for Cancer, Epidemiology and Final result (SEER) and are based on patients diagnosed with hepatic Cancer (hepatocellular type) between 2005 and 2011. The SEER database did not divide the liver cancer survival rate with the stages TNM AJCC. Instead, the grouping of cancer cases in the summary phase:
1. Localization means that the cancer is still limited to the liver and includes stage I, II and some cancers of stage III. These include different types of cancer, some of which are easier to treat than others. The relative survival rate of 5 years for people with localized liver cancer is approximately 31%.
2. Regional means that cancer has grown into a nearby organ or has expanded to nearby lymph nodes and includes cancer at the stage of IIIC and IVA. For liver cancer at regional level, the 5-year survival rate is approximately 11%.
3. Far means that the cancer has spread into organs or tissues that are far and identical to the IVB stage. The relative rate of 5 years of survival for distant liver cancer is approximately 3%.
Metastatic liver cancer prognosis life expectancy - In general, survival rates are higher for people who can undergo surgery to eliminate cancer, regardless of stage. For example, studies have shown that patients with small surgical tumors that do not have cirrhosis or other serious health problems tend to be good if cancer is eliminated. Overall survival of 5 years is greater than 50%. For people with early-stage liver cancer who have a liver transplant, the 5-year survival rate is between 60% and 70%.