Newer treatments for secondary liver cancer

If your doctor feels that any of these may be helpful in your situation, they can refer you to a hospital that carries out the treatments. It’s usually necessary to use them in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy| and/or surgery|. They are only available in some specialist hospitals so you may have to travel a long way for treatment.

Laser ablation Back to top

This is similar to radiofrequency ablation| but uses laser energy to heat the tumours.

Cryotherapy/cryosurgery Back to top

During cryotherapy treatment, a device called a cryoprobe is inserted into the centre of the tumour during an operation. Liquid nitrogen is then passed through the probe. This freezes the surrounding area and destroys the cancer cells. Sometimes the area is thawed for 10-15 minutes and then frozen again. Cryotherapy is only suitable for liver tumours smaller than 4cm (1½in). The procedure takes 30-60 minutes and usually involves a short stay in an intensive care unit followed by a stay of around two days in the specialist liver treatment ward.

This treatment may be painful. The pain| only lasts for a short time after the treatment and you’ll be given painkillers to help. Some people have a fever afterwards - again this can be relieved with medicines.

Internal radiotherapy treatment Back to top

This treatment involves having millions of very tiny ‘beads’ (microspheres) injected into the liver. Each bead is coated with a radioactive isotope that gives out radiation. The treatment gives a dose of radiotherapy| specifically to the liver over a period of a few days.

Before having the treatment, an angiogram is done - a fine tube is put into a blood vessel in the groin area and passed up into a blood vessel taking blood to the liver. This looks at the blood flow to the liver to make sure that the microspheres don’t go anywhere else in the body when the treatment is given.

For the treatment itself, another angiogram is done and the beads are injected through the tube. The treatment involves staying in hospital for 1-4 days. It’s important that anyone having this treatment doesn’t come into contact with anyone younger than 15, or anyone who is pregnant.

Side effects include having a high temperature and abdominal pain straight after the injection - these can last for a few days. Other side effects include feeling sick (nausea|) being sick (vomiting), and diarrhoea|.

Microwave ablation Back to top

This treatment destroys cancer using heat. Needle electrodes are placed into the liver tumours, under a local or general anaesthetic. The cancers are then destroyed using microwave energy given through the needles directly into the tumours. This is a very new treatment and it’s not yet clear how useful it will be in treating secondary liver cancer. It’s only being used as part of cancer research trials|.

Alcohol treatment Back to top

Sterile alcohol is used to destroy the cancer cells. The technique is only suitable for small tumours, 2-3cm in size. A small needle is inserted into the liver tumour under local anaesthetic. The alcohol is then injected directly into the tumour.

Alcohol treatment is only effective if there is one small tumour in the liver or a small number of separate tumours. The injection can be painful so you’ll be given painkillers to take for a while afterwards. Some people have a feeling of being drunk for 10-15 minutes after the injection.

You may be kept in hospital for a few hours after your treatment in case you have any bleeding or pain. This treatment can be repeated some time later if necessary.

The above treatments all need to be done during an operation or while using an ultrasound scan. This is to make sure that the treatments are directed at the right area of the liver.

Hepatic artery chemoembolisation Back to top

While using x-ray pictures, a thin plastic tube is placed into a blood vessel in the groin. This is passed upwards until the tip is in position in the artery that takes blood to the liver. A chemotherapy| drug mixed with an oily liquid is then injected into the liver and the tube is removed.

The oily liquid creates blood clots in the blood vessels which carry blood to the tumour. This stops oxygen and nutrients getting to the tumour. The chemotherapy stays in the tumour in high concentrations, which can kill some of the cells and shrink the tumour. How long the procedure takes, and the side effects it causes, will depend on the type of chemotherapy used. Some people may temporarily experience pain|, feel sick or be sick, and have a high temperature. Chemoembolisation is usually carried out under a local anaesthetic.