Cancer is caused when the body cells begin to grow out of control. Cancer found in the liver can spread to other parts of the body, such as the stomach, pancreas, breast, colon, or lungs. This type of cancer that has spread from other parts is called secondary liver cancer. There are many treatments for both primary and secondary liver cancer, and the treatment depends on the stage of cancer.

The following are the common treatment options for liver cancer.

1. Surgical resection
It is possible to remove the cancer cells through surgical resection if cancer has spread only to a small part of the liver and damage to the liver is minimal. The liver has the ability to regenerate itself, and so it is no big trouble in removing a large section of it without affecting health. However, in some people with liver cancer, the liver may not have the ability to regenerate, which makes the resection unsafe. Therefore, the resection is done only after diagnosing and determining the severity of the damage done to the liver (cirrhosis).

2. Liver transplant
A liver transplant involves removing the cancerous liver and transplanting or replacing it with a healthy liver. A liver transplant can be risky and may have life-threatening complications. A liver transplant can be done only under certain criteria.

• If the single tumor is less than 5 cm in diameter
• If the tumor is small
• If there are less than 3 tumors with each tumor less than 3 cm
• If the body has supported other treatments and has responded well to other treatments
• If there is no more growth of tumor growth for 6 months after the initial treatments

3. Microwave and radiofrequency ablation
Microwave and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are two types of ablative liver cancer treatments recommended during the early stages of liver cancer. Microwave ablation therapy destroys cancer cells by producing heat waves. RFA is an alternative to surgery when the size of the tumors is less than 5cm in diameter. RFA can also be used to treat tumors larger than 5cm. In such a case, the treatment will be done more than once. RFA is a process of heating the tumors with radio waves or microwaves produced by electrodes which is small as a needle. The heat from the radio waves shrinks the tumors and kills the cancer cells. RFA can be done in three ways:

• Laparoscopy
  The needle is inserted through small cuts in the abdomen
• Open surgery
  The needle is inserted through a single large cut made in the abdomen
• Continuous ultrasound or CT scans
  This liver cancer treatment makes sure that the needles are guided into the right position.

4. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is powerful cancer-killing medication therapy that reduces the spread of liver cancer. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a type of chemotherapy that is generally recommended to treat stage B and C liver cancer.

• Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)
  TACE is a liver cancer treatment process in which a catheter is inserted into the main blood vessel in the groin and the chemotherapy medication is injected directly into the blood vessels of the liver, which helps in reducing the growth of tumor cells.