Liver cancer is often treatable, but it can be difficult to treat.
The treatment you have will depend on: if the cancer started in the liver (primary) or spread from somewhere else (secondary), but treatments for primary and secondary liver cancer are similar and depend on the size and type of liver cancer you have.
What is the main cause of liver cancer?
Chronic Viral Hepatitis
Worldwide, the most common risk factor for liver cancer is chronic (long-term) infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV).
These infections lead to cirrhosis of the liver and are responsible for making liver cancer the most common cancer in many parts of the world.
What is the longest someone has lived with liver cancer?
The longest patient survived 43 years and 2 months. Five young patients got married after resection and have had babies. One patient with a tumor measuring 17 x 13 x 9 cm (largest tumor in this series) survived for 37 years after resection, still alive, free of disease.
What is the best treatment for liver cancer?
Liver transplantation has proven to be the most effective treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, a common type of liver cancer.
If a patient has liver disease, such as cirrhosis, liver transplantation can also further reduce further the risk of recurrence following treatment.
Other Treatment for Liver Cancer Include:
- Surgery for Liver Cancer.
- Ablation for Liver Cancer.
- Embolization Therapy for Liver Cancer.
- Radiation Therapy for Liver Cancer.
- Targeted Drug Therapy for Liver Cancer.
- Immunotherapy for Liver Cancer.
- Chemotherapy for Liver Cancer.
At CyberKnife Miami We Offer CyberKnife Radiation Therapy for Liver Cancer
CyberKnife offers patients a non-invasive option for both primary and metastatic liver cancer treatment with great success.
It is used to treat lesions in people who are not candidates for surgery, those who choose not to have surgery, or those who have failed chemotherapy treatment.
Treating liver cancer with traditional radiation therapy is not an option due to the sensitivity of liver tissue to radiation.
CyberKnife’s tracking technology eliminates that risk.
The system can continuously pinpoint and follow a tumor’s exact location as the patient breathes normally while on the treatment table, enabling 100 to 200 radiation beams to attack only the tumor from all different angles, leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
It kills the tumor cells and over time the tumor disappears.
CyberKnife Radiotherapy delivers high doses of radiation in three to five treatments with excellent control rates.
If there is a recurrence, we can often treat it again, even if it is close to the previously treated area.
Our CyberKnife team of specialists includes: Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, and specially trained Radiation Therapists.
The Radiation Oncologist determines the target area for treatment along with the critical structures and determines the total and daily dose of radiation to safely give based on the size and type of tumor.
The Medical Physicist makes the treatment plan for each patient based on the Radiation Oncologists orders.
Our specially trained Radiation Therapists under the supervision of the Radiation Oncologist and Medical Physicist delivers the treatment.
Our team has been at CyberKnife Miami since 2003 making us one of the most experienced CyberKnife teams in the country.
The CyberKnife Treatment is Completely Pain Free.
Patients dress comfortably in their own clothes and can bring music to listen to during the treatment.
Nothing will be required of the patient during the treatment, except to relax. In fact, patients often sleep through the treatment.
There are generally only minimal side effects from CyberKnife treatments, which may include mild nausea and fatigue.
After completing the CyberKnife treatment, patients will schedule follow-up appointments.
You will be required to have follow-up scans in four to eight weeks (CT, MRI, or PET scan) and your doctor will determine when those are necessary.
The tumor will take some time before it is not active or undetectable.
Response to treatment varies from patient to patient. However, clinical experience has shown that most patients respond very well to CyberKnife treatments.
If you’ve been diagnosed with liver cancer you owe it to yourself to contact CyberKnife Miami to see if you might be a candidate for CyberKnife. Call (800) 204-0455. And go to our Liver Cancer Treatment Website Page to see our educational video on exactly how CyberKnife treats liver cancer.