What treatment should be adopted for recurrence of liver cancer after resection

Some patients with liver cancer will have a recurrence of liver cancer soon after surgical resection. If the situation permits, surgical resection can be performed again after the recurrence, but many patients cannot tolerate another surgical resection. Therefore, other treatment methods can be selected, as follows:

1. Local ablation therapy: Most patients who have undergone liver cancer resection have a relatively small volume of remaining liver, and only some patients can tolerate another surgical resection. Local ablation therapy does not require liver resection, but only performs ablation therapy on recurrent liver cancer. It causes little damage to the surrounding liver tissue and is a very effective minimally invasive treatment method.

Local ablation therapy includes anhydrous ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, microwave solidification and other treatments. However, local ablation therapy is suitable for small liver cancer. The diameter of the tumor is preferably less than 3 cm, and the number of recurrence foci does not exceed 3. Its treatment effect is similar to traditional surgical resection.

2. Hepatic artery embolization chemotherapy: For multiple recurrences, hepatic artery embolization chemotherapy can be used. The earlier the recurrence is discovered and the smaller the lesion is, the better the effect will be.

3. Radiotherapy: For patients with localized lesions who are not suitable for surgical resection or local ablation, conformal radiotherapy can also be considered. Radiotherapy is also suitable for the treatment of bone metastasis, lymph node metastasis, etc.