Primary liver cancer starts in the liver. If a cancer starts elsewhere and spreads to the liver this is called secondary liver cancer. Most people in the UK with cancer in the liver have secondary liver cancer.
Doctors look at a number of factors when deciding on the right treatment for someone with primary liver cancer including:
- your age and general health
- the general condition of your liver.
It's important that you are fit enough to cope with the operation so your age and general health are taken into account. Doctors also need to consider whether the liver will be able to recover after the operation. Unfortunately, many people with liver cancer also have liver damage caused by cirrhosis or hepatitis infection. This damage usually means that surgery isn't possible.
Other important considerations to do with the cancer include:
- Its size
- How many tumours there are
- Whether the tumours are in one area of the liver or several
- Whether the cancer has spread outside the liver
- Whether the cancer is growing around major blood vessels in the liver as this may make an operation too risky.
If a person is fairly fit, the cancer is affecting only one area of the liver, and the rest of the liver is healthy, it may be possible to operate. The operation involves taking away the tumour with a margin of healthy tissue around it. This is called a liver resection.
Occasionally a liver transplant might be considered. This is more likely if someone has a type of cancer known as fibrolamellar cancer.
Most people with primary liver cancer can't have surgery. This may be because they have large tumours in different parts of the liver or because they have cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis. An operation is suitable for fewer than 1 in 5 people in the UK, who develop primary liver cancer.