How Effective is Chemotherapy for Liver Cancer?

The effectiveness of chemotherapy for liver cancer depends on the type of cancer and how far progressed the cancer has become. Chemotherapy is not generally very effective at treating cancer which starts in the liver, or primary liver cancer. It may be an effective treatment for secondary varieties, or cancer that starts is another area of the body and spreads to the liver. Most often, chemotherapy will be used in combination with more effective treatments, especially in those with cancer elsewhere in the body.

Primary liver cancer is generally treated with surgery to remove the tumor and sometimes with radiation therapies. The use of chemotherapy for liver cancer is not uncommon, but it is not always effective in treating cancers that are in earlier stages and which begin in the liver. When it is used, cancer is often in more progressed stages. Medication can be delivered intravenously, or be injected directly into the cancerous area.

For patients whose cancer has spread into the liver from another area of the body, chemotherapy may be a good treatment option. It is still often combined with surgery and radiation treatments, and a different combination of drugs may be used than with primary liver cancer. The effectiveness of chemotherapy for liver cancer that began elsewhere in the body depends on many factors, including the patient's overall health, age, and how far the cancer has spread.

Progressed cancers are usually much harder to treat than those which are contained in one area. Of those who are diagnosed with liver cancer, 20% live for at least one year after diagnosis. Only five percent live for five years or more. In general, a six month survival time is typical for those diagnosed with liver cancer. This number may be better or worse depending on how far progressed the cancer is at the time it is diagnosed. For some individuals, chemotherapy for liver cancer is not the most effective treatment, and it increases survival times minimally.

Those with the most positive prognosis are those who catch their cancers early and receive treatment immediately. The most effective methods for early stage primary liver cancer is a partial liver removal, which gets rid of the diseased section, radiation, and a full liver transplant. Chemotherapy may be used for early stage if other treatments fail to work effectively enough and the drugs used are typically those which can be injected directly into the liver.