What treatment method is most effective for liver cancer? 4 common methods for treating liver cancer

Liver cancer is not that scary. It is not incurable. As long as it is discovered in time, the condition can be reversed. So do you know how to treat liver cancer?

Liver cancer is a common tumor disease in my country. There are many ways to treat cancer, such as common surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc. Because it is related to the patient's life, patients dare not easily choose a treatment method. Faced with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc., patients do not know which method is the most effective. What is the most effective treatment for liver cancer?

4 common methods of treating liver cancer

1. Radiation therapy

Radiotherapy is a treatment method for liver cancer that uses various rays of different energies to irradiate the tumor to inhibit and kill cancer cells. Radiotherapy can reduce the tumor mass, relieve symptoms, and prolong life for primary liver cancer. It is mainly suitable for cases with good general condition, normal liver function, and localized tumors that cannot be removed. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can cause many toxic and side effects such as decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, so traditional Chinese medicine is often combined with liver cancer treatment methods in clinical practice to improve the cure rate of cancer.

2. Surgical treatment

There is no doubt that surgical treatment is the most effective treatment for early liver cancer. Early resection is the key to improving survival rate. The smaller the tumor, the higher the five-year survival rate. However, because liver cancer surgery is very traumatic and will cause damage to body tissues and loss of Qi and blood after surgery, it is not suitable for the elderly, those with poor physical fitness, and those with heart, lung, kidney and other important organ diseases. If combined with comprehensive treatments such as Chinese medicine after surgery, better results can be achieved.

3. Chemotherapy

95% of liver cancer patients have lost the chance of surgery when diagnosed, and most liver cancer patients still rely on chemical drug treatment. Chemotherapy is currently one of the main means of treating tumors and certain autoimmune diseases. It is a treatment method for liver cancer using chemical synthetic drugs. It can achieve certain therapeutic effects in inhibiting cancer cells, but it has certain toxic side effects, especially for patients with poor physical fitness, which will be more painful. The purpose of advanced liver cancer treatment is to improve the patient's quality of life and prolong life. It cannot be based solely on treating the disease. It is also necessary to take into account the patient's feelings and the improvement of quality of life, and on this basis improve the treatment effect and prolong survival.

4. Biological therapy

Biological therapy can be used to treat cancer independently or in combination with the other three treatment modes (surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy). It can reduce the suppression of immunity and eliminate the residual tumor cells. Biological therapy can achieve better results when combined with other methods as a means of treating liver cancer. Biological therapy is also a research topic for the treatment of liver cancer in the future.

What are the common early symptoms of liver cancer?

1. First symptoms

Pain in the liver area. Liver cancer patients suffer from severe liver cell damage, which can cause swelling and pain in the liver area. The pain in the liver area is usually located in the right rib or under the xiphoid process. The pain is intermittent or continuous, dull or stabbing. Before the pain, the patient may feel discomfort in the right upper abdomen. The pain may be mild or severe or relieve itself in the short term. The main cause of the pain is the rapid growth of the tumor, which compresses the liver capsule and produces pulling pain. It can also be caused by the necrosis of the tumor irritating the liver capsule.

2. Another symptom of early liver cancer is fever.

Generally, the temperature remains at around 39°C and is difficult to reduce. The fever of liver cancer is mostly cancer fever, which is caused by the release of pyrogens into the blood circulation after tumor tissue necrosis. Tumor patients are prone to infection due to low resistance, and fever may also occur. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish from cancer fever of liver cancer. It is necessary to combine blood picture and observe whether antibacterial treatment is effective to make a judgment.

3. Common symptoms of early liver cancer: weight loss and fatigue

Liver cancer patients often feel more fatigued than other tumor patients. This may be because liver cells are damaged, leading to decreased liver function, metabolic disorders, and certain toxins cannot be inactivated in time. Weight loss is also a common symptom of liver cancer patients, due to damaged liver function and decreased digestion and absorption function. As the disease progresses, the degree of weight loss may worsen, which often occurs in the middle and late stages of liver cancer. When these symptoms appear, be careful of worsening of the disease.

4. Digestive tract symptoms are also one of the early symptoms of liver cancer

Common symptoms include loss of appetite, upper abdominal fullness after meals, bloating, indigestion, and even nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Loss of appetite and abdominal distension are the most common. Diarrhea is also a common digestive tract symptom of liver cancer. It has been reported both at home and abroad. The incidence is high and it is easily mistaken for chronic enteritis. Portal hypertension and intestinal dysfunction caused by portal vein or hepatic vein cancer thrombus can cause abdominal distension and increased bowel movements. Abdominal distension may also be caused by ascites.

5. Lower limb edema

Patients with liver cancer and ascites often have lower limb edema, which may occur at the ankle in mild cases and spread to the entire lower limb in severe cases. Clinically, some patients have been seen with severe lower limb edema, with fluid oozing out of the thigh skin. The main cause of lower limb edema is ascites compressing the lower limb veins or cancer thrombus blocking them, which obstructs venous return. Mild edema can also be caused by low plasma albumin.

6. Bleeding tendency

Liver cancer patients often have bleeding gums, subcutaneous ecchymoses and other bleeding tendencies, which are mainly caused by impaired liver function and abnormal coagulation function. It is especially common in patients with liver cancer and cirrhosis. Gastrointestinal bleeding is more common, mainly due to portal hypertension leading to esophageal varices. In fact, gastrointestinal bleeding is also the main cause of death in liver cancer patients.