Liver Cancer

What is the Cancer?

What is adult primary liver cancer?

Adult primary liver cancer is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells start to grow in the tissues of the liver. The liver is one of the largest organs in the body, filling the upper right side of the abdomen and protected by the rib cage. The liver has many functions. It has an important role in making food into energy and also filters and stores blood.

People who have hepatitis B or C (viral infections of the liver) or a disease of the liver called cirrhosis are more likely than other people to get adult primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that has spread from another place in the body to the liver.

A doctor should be seen if the following symptoms appear: a hard lump just below the rib cage on the right side where the liver has swollen, discomfort in the upper abdomen on the right side, pain around the right shoulder blade, or yellowing of the skin (jaundice).

If there are symptoms, a doctor may order special x-rays, such as a computed tomographic scan or a liver scan. If a lump is seen on an x-ray, a doctor may use a needle inserted into the abdomen to remove a small amount of tissue from the liver. This procedure is called a needle biopsy, and a doctor usually will use an x-ray for guidance. The doctor will have the tissue looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. Before the test, a patient will be given a local anesthetic (a drug that causes loss of feeling for a short period of time) in the area so that no pain is felt.

A doctor may also want to look at the liver with an instrument called a laparoscope, which is a small tube-shaped instrument with a light on the end. For this test, a small cut is made in the abdomen so that the laparoscope can be inserted. The doctor may also take a small piece of tissue (biopsy specimen) during the laparoscopy and look at it under the microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. An anesthetic will be given so no pain is felt.

A doctor may also order an examination called an angiography. During this examination, a tube (catheter) is inserted into the main blood vessel that takes blood to the liver. Dye is then injected through the tube so that the blood vessels in the liver can be seen on an x-ray. Angiography can help a doctor tell whether the cancer is primary liver cancer or cancer that has spread from another part of the body. This test is usually done in the hospital.

Certain blood tests (such as alpha-fetoprotein, or AFP) may also help a doctor diagnose primary liver cancer.

The chance of recovery (prognosis) and choice of treatment depend on the stage of the cancer (whether it is just in the liver or has spread to other places) and the patient's general state of health.

Stages of adult primary liver cancer :

Once adult primary liver cancer is found, more tests will be done to find out if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body (staging). The following stages are used for adult primary liver cancer:

Localized resectable:

Cancer is found in one place in the liver and can be totally removed in an operation, BUT NOT AVISABLE FROM DATO MASTER LEONG HONG TOLE D.S.T.M.'S point of view. They have many successful cases in this kind of situation.

Localized unresectable:

 Cancer is found only in one part of the liver, but the cancer cannot be totally removed.

Advanced:

Cancer has spread through much of the liver or to other parts of the body, name secondary cancer.

Recurrent:

Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been operated. It may come back in the liver or in another part of the body.

How adult primary liver cancer is treated

There are treatments for all patients with adult primary liver cancer. Many kinds of treatment are used:

1-surgery (taking out the cancer in an operation)
2-radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays to kill cancer cells)
3-chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells)
4-Acupuncture and Herbal Treatment Centre' WAY OF MEDICATION- to treat with acupuncture and herbal and restructuring life activities, and the result is near to 90%.

     Surgery may be used to take out the cancer or to replace the liver. Resection of the liver takes out the part of the liver where the cancer is found. A liver transplant is the removal of the entire liver and replacement with a healthy liver donated from someone else. Very few patients with liver cancer are eligible for this procedure and remember the risk is quite high.After effects and rejection are still in the studies.

     Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy) or from putting materials that contain radiation through thin plastic tubes (internal radiation therapy) in the area where the cancer cells are found. Drugs may be given with the radiation therapy to make the cancer cells more sensitive to radiation (radiosensitization).

     Radiation may also be given by attaching radioactive substances to antibodies (radiolabeled antibodies) that search out certain cells in the liver. Antibodies are made by the body to fight germs and other harmful things; each antibody fights specific cells. The side effects can be very drastic but could be controlled by acupuncture and herbal medicine.

     Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy for liver cancer is usually put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or artery. This type of chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the liver. In another type of chemotherapy called regional chemotherapy, a small pump containing drugs is placed in the body. The pump puts drugs directly into the blood vessels that go to the tumor.

     Chemoembolization of the hepatic artery involves blocking the hepatic artery (the major artery that supplies blood to the liver) and then injecting chemotherapy drugs between the blockage and the liver, using the liver's arteries to deliver the chemotherapy throughout the liver.There side effects is very dristic such as total lost of hair,become very tire and dry up etc,etc.This could well be reduce and normalise with acupucture and herbal medicine.

     If a doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the operation, the patient may be given chemotherapy after surgery to kill any remaining cells. Chemotherapy that is given after surgery to remove the cancer is called adjuvant chemotherapy.

     Hyperthermia (warming the body to kill cancer cells) and biological therapy (using the body's immune system to fight cancer) are being tested in clinical trials. Dato Master Leong Hong Tole D.S.T.M is finaling this sudy in the herbal and acupuncture area.

     Hyperthermia therapy is the use of a special machine to heat the body for a certain period of time to kill cancer cells. Because cancer cells are often more sensitive to heat than normal cells, the cancer cells die and the tumor shrinks.

Treatment by stage

     Treatments for adult primary liver cancer depend on the stage of the disease the condition of the liver, and the patient's age and general health. Standard treatment may be considered, based on its effectiveness in patients in past studies, or participation into a clinical trial. Many patients are not cured with standard therapy, and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information.

ADVANCED ADULT PRIMARY LIVER CANCER

     Treatment of advanced adult primary liver cancer depends on what treatment a patient has already received, the part of the body where the cancer has come back, whether the liver has cirrhosis, and other factors.

RECURRENT ADULT PRIMARY LIVER CANCER

     Treatment of recurrent adult primary liver cancer depends on what treatment a patient has already received, the part of the body where the cancer has come back, whether the liver has cirrhosis, and other factors. Concultion rates of treating liver cancer have reach a remarkerble lever until not many western universities can belief.This is Dato Master Leong Hong Tole D.S.T.M specialist area.

HEPATOCIRRHOSIS

     Hepatocirrhosis(HC) is a chronic disease which afects the entire body. Its pathological features include degeneration,necrosis and regeneration of the hepatic cells; proliferation of hepatic fibrous tissue,and disturbance of the normal hipatic struture which lead to deformation and cirrhosis of the liver.Than the term HEPATOCIRRHOSIS is form.

     This could be cure usually before the patient gets into coma. Usually it takes about 3weeks to 6 months to cure by Chinese Master's way of treatment.

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