Surgery may include one of two liver cancer treatments:

• Liver resection removes the part of the liver that contains cancer. Many considerations go into determining if resection is appropriate. This evaluation may require a liver surgeon.
• This type of liver transplant replaces the diseased liver with a healthy one. This may be appropriate if the cancer is only in the liver, and the right donor is found. A liver transplant surgeon is part of the organ transplant department at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.


Liver transplant

Liver transplant is surgery to replace a diseased liver with a healthy liver.

Learn more about liver transplants in our health encyclopedia.

Chemotherapy uses drugs given by mouth or injection to kill cancer cells.

• Chemotherapy may treat cancer that has spread to the liver from other parts of the body (liver metastases).


Liver metastases

Liver metastases is cancer that has spread to the liver from somewhere else in the body.

Learn more about liver metastases in our health encyclopedia.

• Chemotherapy may shrink large tumors before surgery for primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). This can help ensure a successful surgery.


Hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is cancer of the liver.

Learn more about hepatocellular carcinoma in our health encyclopedia.

Chemoembolization combines chemotherapy with another treatment to slow the growth of liver cancer tumors.

Chemoembolization begins when chemotherapy medicine is sent through the liver's blood vessels. Another material then is put into the liver's blood vessels to cut off the blood supply to the liver and starve the tumor or blood.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) lasts about an hour. You usually do not need to stay overnight at the hospital.

• You will be given medicine to help you relax and not feel pain. After the medicine takes effect, you will be brought into the procedure area.
• A small incision will be made in the groin. A flexible catheter will be guided through the blood vessels and into the liver.
• Tiny glass beads (microspheres) with the radioactive element (yttrium-90) will go through the catheter, into the bloodstream and directly into the liver tumor.

SIRT is a regional treatment. This means the anti-cancer effect is only on the liver, nowhere else.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) may be suitable if you:

• have primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) and good liver function
• have cancer that started in the bowel or rectum and spread to the liver (liver metastases)
• have enough healthy tissue to keep the liver working well
• are not a candidate for other treatments like resection or radiofrequency ablation.

Survival statistics give a general idea of the outlook for liver cancer. They do not decide your personal liver cancer prognosis. This is especially true for liver cancer because the extent of your underlying liver disease can greatly affect your outcome.

These numbers are based on Americans who were diagnosed with liver and bile duct cancer between 1999 and 2005. Ask your doctor or other liver cancer care team member how they apply to you.

• Overall, the five-year relative survival rate for liver and bile duct cancer is 13.1 percent.
• Five-year relative survival rates according to liver and bile duct cancer diagnosis are:
• 25.7 percent for cancer that is in one area and has not spread
• 8.5 percent for cancer that has gone to lymph nodes and nearby tissue
• 2.4 percent for cancer that has spread throughout the body.

A five-year survival rate takes into account the percentage of patients who live at least five years after being diagnosed with cancer. A five-year relative survival rate acknowledges that some patients may die from other causes besides cancer.