Stages of liver cancer in children

After a child is diagnosed with liver cancer, tests are needed to confirm whether the cancer has spread throughout the liver or has metastasized to other sites.

The process used to determine whether the cancer has spread within the liver to nearby tissues or organs, or to other parts of the body, is called staging. The PRETEXT group and POSTTEXT group are used instead of staging in the treatment of childhood liver cancer. The results of tests and procedures used to detect, diagnose, and determine if the cancer has spread can be used to determine the PRETEXT group and POSTTEXT group.

There are two staging systems for pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma.

Two staging systems are available for pediatric liver cancer to determine whether the tumor can be surgically removed:

The PRETEXT group describes the condition of the tumor before the patient receives any treatment.

The POSTTEXT group describes the tumor after the patient has received treatment such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

There are four PRETEXT and POSTTEXT groups:

The liver can be divided into four parts.The PRETEXT and POSTTEXT groups depend on which parts of the liver have cancer.

PRETEXT and POSTTEXT group I

Liver PRETEXT I; drawing shows two livers. Dotted lines divide each liver into four vertical sections of about In the first liver, cancer is shown in the section on the far left. In the second liver, cancer is shown in the section on the far right.

Liver PRETEXTI. cancer was found in one section of the liver. Three adjacent liver sections were free of cancer.

Group 1, cancer was found in one part of the liver. Three adjacent liver parts were free of cancer.

PRETEXT and POSTTEXT Group II

Liver PRETEXT II; drawing shows five livers. Dotted lines divide each liver into four vertical sections that In the first liver, cancer is shown in the two sections on the left. In the third liver, cancer is shown in the far left and far right sections. In the fifth liver, cancer is shown in the second section from the right.

LIVER PRETEXTII. cancer is shown in one or two sections from the right. . The two adjacent liver parts are free of cancer.

Group II. Cancer was found in one or both parts of the liver. There was no cancer in two adjacent liver parts.

PRETEXT and POSTTEXT Group III

LIVER PRETEXTIII. cancer is shown in three parts of the liver. No cancer in one liver part, or cancer found in two parts of the liver and no cancer in two liver parts that are not adjacent to each other.

Group III, for one of the following:

Cancer was found in three parts of the liver. No cancer in one liver part.

Cancer was found in two parts of the liver, with no cancer in two liver parts that are not adjacent to each other.

PRETEXT and POSTTEXT Group IV

Liver PRETEXT IV; drawing shows two livers. Dotted lines divide each liver into four vertical sections that are In the first liver, cancer is shown across all four sections. In the second liver, cancer is shown in the two sections on the left and In the second liver, cancer is shown in the two sections on the left and spots of cancer are shown in the two sections on the right.

LIVER PRETEXTIV. Cancer was found in all four sections of the liver.

Group IV, cancer was found in all four parts of the liver.

Cancer spreads through the body in three ways.

Cancer can spread through the tissues, the lymphatic system, and the blood:

Tissues. Cancer grows and spreads from its origin to the surrounding area.

Lymphatic system. Cancer spreads from its origin by invading the lymphatic system and reaches other parts of the body through the lymphatic vessels.

Blood. Cancer spreads from its origin by invading the blood and reaches other parts of the body through blood vessels.

Cancer can spread from its origin to other parts of the body.

When cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. Cancer cells break away from their origin (the primary cancer) and move through the lymphatic system or bloodstream.

Lymphatic system. The cancer invades the lymphatic system, moves through the lymphatic vessels, and forms a tumor in another part of the body (metastatic cancer).

Blood. The cancer invades the bloodstream, moves through blood vessels, and forms a tumor in another part of the body (metastatic cancer).

Metastatic cancer is the same type of tumor as the primary tumor. For example, if liver cancer in a child spreads to the lungs, the cancer cells in the lungs are actually liver cancer cells. This cancer is called metastatic liver cancer, not lung cancer.

Many cancer deaths are caused by the cancer metastasizing from the initial tumor to other tissues and organs. This is called metastatic cancer. The following animation demonstrates the way cancer cells metastasize from their place of origin to other parts of the body.