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Metastatic Lesions & Liver Cancer Diagnosis

If you have been diagnosed with liver cancer with metastatic lesions, you have advanced liver cancer. A cure is unlikely, but treatments are available.

  1. What is Stage 4 Liver Cancer

    • Metastatic lesions indicate your cancer has spread beyond the liver and into other organs. This is the last stage of liver cancer. It typically spreads to the lungs and bones.

    Determining Treatment

    • Your doctor will determine treatment based on the size of your tumor, where it has spread, your age and your general health among other factors. He will also take personal preferences into account. At this stage, you might opt to forego certain treatments or not want treatment at all.

    Role of Chemotherapy

    • Chemotherapy is a common treatment for stage 4 cancers since it travels through the whole body. By controlling the cancer, it can relieve symptoms and possibly prolong survival. You might also receive hepatic artery infusions, which deliver chemotherapy drugs right into the liver.

    Targeted Drug Therapy

    • The drug sorafenib treats advanced liver cancer by blocking the formation of new blood vessels. It can prolong survival modestly compared to no treatment.

    Prognosis

    • Stage 4 liver cancer has a five-year survival rate of 2 percent. This data indicates the number of people with this stage of liver cancer still alive five years after diagnosis.

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