Can Gamma Knife treat bone metastases from liver cancer?

  Typical symptoms and signs of liver cancer usually appear in the middle or late stage, and cancer cells have already undergone bloodstream metastasis, lymphatic metastasis and implantation metastasis. Bone is a common metastatic organ of liver cancer. Liver cancer may metastasize to bones in all parts of the body, however, the common metastatic sites are vertebrae, hip, ribs, femur, etc.  The main manifestations of liver cancer bone metastasis are pain and dysfunction of corresponding bones. For example, patients with vertebral metastases can feel pain in the lower back, and if the vertebral body is examined, there is obvious pressure pain in the corresponding area. If it continues to develop, the metastases will further compress or invade the spinal cord, causing paraplegia. Among bone metastases of liver cancer, spinal metastases are the most common. Cancer cells grow indefinitely in the vertebral body, causing osteolytic, osteogenic or mixed destruction of the vertebral body, and the X-ray shows bone destruction and fracture.  If there is pain in bones, the possibility of bone metastasis should be considered. An isotope bone scan is usually required, which can sensitively detect the presence of isotope concentration in the corresponding area. However, there are false positives on the isotope scan, and if there is a history of fracture or inflammation of the bone, the area may also show isotope concentrations. MRI is very accurate in diagnosing bone metastases and can detect the destruction of bone and the degree of invasion of surrounding tissues, and can be examined as needed. In addition, liver cancer can develop into liver failure, portal hypertension and liver rupture due to the primary focus.  Surgery for patients with bone metastases from liver cancer is not significant, and most of our liver cancer patients have a history of hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, which cannot be operated. Gamma knife has a total efficiency of 81% in the treatment of primary liver cancer, and it can be a “local means and systemic treatment” for metastatic lesions, thus becoming the trend of liver cancer treatment.