Liver cancer is a deadly condition and when it metastasizes it is even more difficult to treat. As a metastatic liver cancer, this stage of the disease is especially difficult and is generally treated with a grim prognosis. But knowing why and how metastatic liver cancer develops, its symptoms, treatment options and survival rates can assist patients and their families as they make decisions about maintaining health.
What is Metastatic Liver Cancer?
Metastatic liver cancer is when cancer from another part of the body has spread to the liver. It is different from cancer that has started somewhere else in the body and spread to the liver (secondary liver cancer). Metastasis occurs when cancer cells escape from a tumor and circulate in the bloodstream or lymphatic system, spreading to distant organs like the liver.
Metastases often occur in the liver, as the blood from the digestive tract is filtered there and the liver has a rich blood supply. Numerous other cancers can also spread to the liver, such as those of the colon, pancreas, stomach and lungs. When the cancer spreads to the liver, it is known as metastatic liver cancer.
How Does Liver Cancer Spread To The Brain?
Stage metastatic liver cancer is not necessary. First, cancer cells expand in what is called the primary tumor — this could be in the colon, the lung, the breast or perhaps any other organ. As the tumor grows these cancer cells have an opportunity to enter the blood stream or lymphatics. Those cells can then travel to other organs like the liver and grow as secondary tumors.
The liver’s blood supply makes it an inviting place for cancer cells to stay. When cancer has metastasized to the liver, it is frequently a sign that the cancer is at an advanced stage – generally meaning it is less likely that it can be treated effectively. There is a rapid potential for the cancer to spread and the liver to become compromised by the growths, inhibiting the organ’s ability to do its job.
Signs and Symptoms of Metastatic Liver Cancer
The signs of metastatic liver cancer may depend on the size of the tumor and the part of the liver that is affected. Symptoms Symptoms that are often seen include:
- Ache or pain in right upper abdomen.
- Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice).
- Fatigue and general weakness.
- Unintentional weight loss or loss of appetite.
- Abdominal swelling or fullness from the accumulation of fluid (ascites).
- Nausea and vomiting.
Metastatic liver disease is often asymptomatic during the initial stages and symptoms often occur when the cancer is advanced.
Diagnosis of Metastatic Liver Tumor
Providers use imaging tests, biopsies, and blood tests to diagnose metastatic liver cancer. Various diagnostic approaches include the following:
- Imaging tests: Doctors use CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds to find tumors on the liver and to determine how far the cancer has spread.
- Blood tests: Liver function tests may be used to evaluate liver function and tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) can be used to detect liver cancer.
- Biopsy: A liver tissue sample can be collected to verify the presence of the metastatic cancer.
Treatment options for this type of cancer will be based on the location of the primary cancer and the liver’s general health, and doctors will first have to try and determine how much the cancer has spread.
Treatment for Metastatic Liver Cancer
Metastatic liver cancer is a difficult condition to treat, but there are several options, depending on how much cancer there is and how well the liver is working. Treatment options include a multifamily of treatment to try to control the cancer, alleviate symptoms and increase the patient’s quality of life.
- Chemotherapy: These drugs can destroy or reduce cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be useful for controlling metastatic liver cancer; however, it is usually less effective in the liver than in other sites of the body.
- Targeted Therapy: These are medications that are specifically programmed to recognize and attack cancer cells, stopping their growth and spread. Targeted therapies are gaining favor among liver cancer patients, particularly when conventional chemotherapy doesn’t work well.
- Immunotherapy: This involves the use of drugs to aid the body’s immune system in recognizing and killing cancer cells. Immunotherapy has exhibited efficacy in several types of metastatic cancer including liver cancer.
- Surgery — This may rarely be an option if the metastasis is isolated and the patient is otherwise in good health. But for many patients it is not an option because they have advanced metastatic liver cancer.
- Liver Transplant: Patients with asystemic disease with adequately controlled primary disease and severely impaired liver function from metastasis but not from primary disease may be candidates for liver transplantation.
- Palliative Care: In the advance stages of metastatic liver cancer, the goal could turn to palliative care, which is designed to make you feel better, but not cure the cancer.
Prognosis and Survival Rates
Outlook for metastatic liver cancer The outlook for liver cancer depends on how the disease is diagnosed and the person’s individual condition, but is slightly more optimistic for an earlier diagnosis. But metastatic liver cancer is frequently detected late, after it has already traveled to other organs, and is hard to treat.
The five year survival rate for liver cancer overall is poor and decreases dramatically once the cancer has metastasized to beyond the liver, the American Cancer Society states. Patients with metastatic liver cancer can survive anywhere from a few months to a few years depending on the cancer’s response to treatment.
Local disease has a better survival, especially if treated with surgery or liver transplant.
The prevailing prognosis of metastatic liver cancer is poor and most patients do not survive a year following diagnosis.
But survival statistics are only averages and can be quite variable from one person to the next. Targeted drugs and immunotherapies have extended survival for many patients with metastatic liver cancer.
Conclusion: Is Metastatic Liver Cancer a Death Sentence?
Metastatic liver cancer is a life-threatening form of cancer. It’s usually a sign that the cancer has become far advanced and has spread outside the liver, making treatment more difficult. But it’s not always instantly lethal. Early diagnosis, appropriate therapy, and innovative therapeutic treatments have led to extended life for certain patients; however, the survival rate in most is still poor.
Patients with a diagnosis of metastatic liver cancer should collaborate with their doctor to learn as much about their particular case as possible and discuss treatment options that can help. The road is tough, but advances in research and treatment provide hope for better outcomes.
Dr. Pooja Babbar is a committed and empathetic cancer specialist in Gurgaon with more than 11 years of experience treating cancer patients. A patient-focused individual, she blends the latest treatment modalities with compassionate care. A successful treatise of varied solid tumors under her belt, she never stops updating herself with the latest developments in the field of oncology. A sincere and committed soul with a passion for enhanced patient outcomes, she is a name that commands respect in the field.
