The primary treatment goal for primary liver cancer is to prolong patient survival.
How long do patients with hepatocellular carcinoma typically survive?
The survival of different patients will vary depending on their tumor stage, the degree of cirrhosis, and the treatment method and efficacy.
Early stage liver cancer
According to the Barcelona Staging of Primary Liver Cancer (Barcelona clinic liver cancer, BCLC) criteria, patients with early-stage liver cancer have access to “curative” treatments, including hepatectomy, radiofrequency ablation, and liver transplantation. The 5-year survival rate for this group of patients is about 40% to 70%.
Mid- to late-stage, progressive liver cancer
Patients with intermediate-stage and progressive hepatocellular carcinoma are not eligible for “curative” treatment, but they can survive with tumors for as long as possible with a combination of transhepatic chemoembolization, targeted drug therapy, etc.
The average survival time for this group of patients without any treatment is about 6 to 16 months.
End-stage liver cancer
Patients with end-stage liver cancer have lost all opportunities for antitumor therapy because of abnormal liver function and are treated only with symptomatic support, and the average survival time for this group of patients is no more than 3 months.
How to extend the survival time of patients with liver cancer?
The principles are early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment, and it is important to do all three.
Early detection
The first step is to be aware of cancer prevention. When you are found to have chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, it is important to find out the cause of the disease and treat the cause to slow down the process of cirrhosis.
It is also important to pay attention to screening for liver cancer during follow-up, including testing for the liver cancer marker alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and performing liver ultrasound.
Early diagnosis
Once you find elevated AFP or an occupying lesion in the liver, it is important to be aggressive with further testing to determine if you have liver cancer.
Early treatment
If liver cancer is diagnosed for the first time, it is important to visit the relevant hospital in a timely manner so that a professional physician can tailor a personalized treatment plan that is most appropriate to maximize the benefits of treatment.
If you have already undergone treatment for liver cancer, you should have a review at the prescribed time to assess the effect of the previous treatment, identify remaining and new problems, assess the recovery of side effects after treatment, etc., and make a comprehensive judgment and analysis before planning the next treatment plan and the timing of treatment.
Even if the liver cancer is already intermediate to advanced, in addition to the combination of surgery, ablation, intervention, and sorafenib, new targeted drugs (regorafenib, lenvatinib), and popular immunotherapies (PD-1, PD-L1 antibodies) have emerged in recent years, all bringing new light to the treatment of liver cancer.
Optimizing the fight against cancer
Long-term survival of liver cancer patients is closely related to early detection of liver cancer, early radical treatment, active cooperation with treatment, and regular review, but also to the patient’s calm mind, cheerful and optimistic personality, regular life and living, reasonable diet, and adherence to moderate activities.