Liver tumors are malignant tumors arising from the organ's own tissue. The most common of these is hepatocellular carcinoma and it constitutes approximately 90% of the cases. The remaining cases are tumors called cholangiocarcinoma that mostly originate from the bile ducts in the liver.
What are the Causes of Liver Cancer?
Although the exact cause of liver cancer is not known, it is thought to be responsible for the disease and increase the risk. some diseases or substances are present. These are hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, liver adenoma, some carcinogenic substances in food, some drugs and metabolic diseases such as hemochromatosis.
Many patients with liver cancer do not have any complaints. However, mild pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, swelling in the abdomen, yellowing of the skin or easy bleeding from the tissues may be seen. In these cases, patients should consult a physician without delay.
How to Diagnose Liver Cancer?
The diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be detected during routine examinations in patients followed up for hepatitis disease. Today, the diagnosis of HCC can be largely detected with modern imaging studies. HCC is detected by various radiological methods (ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography) as a space-occupying tumor in the liver.
As there may be many images that can be confused with HCC, it is important that an experienced radiologist interprets it. However, some blood tests also provide valuable information about HCC. Hepatitis serology (hepatitis tests in the blood) and some tumor markers (especially alpha-fetoprotein) may confirm the diagnosis.
Liver biopsy is not always necessary in HCC patients. In a patient with viral hepatitis, liver masses with elevated alpha fetoprotein and typical radiological appearance, the diagnosis is almost certain and biopsy is not required. In some patients whose diagnosis is doubtful, biopsy can be performed and the diagnosis can be confirmed. A biopsy is a radiology-guided needle biopsy performed with local anesthesia.
How is Liver Cancer Treated?
There are different treatment options in HCC. The treatment in which patients benefit most is cerr. ahi is the cure. Here, removal of a part of the liver (liver resections) or liver transplant to include the tumor (or tumors) are the treatment options.
The consideration in resection surgery is that the remaining liver is of sufficient quality and size for the patient. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, methods in which the tumor is burned (ablation therapy) or nuclear medicine treatments with microspheres can be applied in tumors for which surgery is not suitable or in patients who are thought to be unable to remove these major surgeries.
Liver and Pet Mr
Liver, Because it is one of the most common sites for metastasis of various cancers, including lung, breast, and colorectal cancers, PET MR is a better tool for staging because it detects small liver tumors, which may often be too small to characterize on PET/CT.
It increases the diagnostic reliability in the characterization of liver tumors. Distinguishes normal liver tissue and tumor burden.
What are Liver Metastases?
Metastases are the most common tumors in the liver. Metastasis is the medical name given to the spread of cancer from another organ or tissue to the liver. Cancers from almost any part of the body can spread to the liver. Liver metastases occur as masses of different sizes in the liver. On the other hand, patients may sometimes experience swelling in the abdomen, pain in the upper right part of the abdomen or in the back, complaints due to metastases elsewhere in the body (shortness of breath, etc.). Here, the treatment plan varies according to the type of cancer from which the metastasis originates, the characteristics of the mass (or masses) and the patient's health conditions. Surgical removal of liver metastases gives very good results in large intestine cancers and a special type of cancer called neuroendocrine tumor.
For this reason, every effort is made to remove a part of the liver (liver resections) to include the tumor (or tumors) in patients in these two groups. ba Surgery can be performed laparoscopically in suitable cases.
Another important point in the selection of surgical treatment is that the remaining liver tissue after removal of the tumor (or tumors) will be sufficient for the patient. On the other hand, liver surgeries are the biggest surgeries among all surgical interventions and they put a great burden on the patient.
The general health status of the patients should be at a level that can handle these surgeries. In the end, all profit and loss calculations are discussed between the physician and the patient, and the surgical decision is made. The liver is a self-renewing organ that can grow with different stimuli.
There are different strategies for this purpose and can be successfully implemented by experienced teams. The portal vein, which is one of the main vessels that brings blood to a lobe of the liver, can be radiologically occluded (embolization) and the opposite side is enlarged.
Another option is to perform a gradual surgery on the patient. In the first operation, some of the tumors are cleaned and in the second stage, the portal vein of the lobe to be removed is ligated. In the second operation, this lobe is removed and the tumors are cleaned in the patient. These complex approaches are for complete removal of tumors after surgery and require very specific surgical and radiological techniques.
Chemotherapy is usually applied in liver metastases. Cancer that has spread from another organ or tissue in the liver is already an indicator of advanced stage disease (Stage 4). Patients are candidates for chemotherapy, with or without surgery. On the other hand, a patient with a large number of tumors that cannot be surgically removed at the time the disease is first diagnosed can respond to chemotherapy, and tumors that shrink or disappear can be re-evaluated and surgery can be performed this time after chemotherapy. Ablation procedures such as burning of tumors with the help of chemo are the approaches included in the metastasis treatment plan. These methods can be applied in cases where surgery cannot be applied or in combination with surgical procedure. alone� The success rates of these treatments are far behind surgery and can only be applied in selected patients.
What are the Treatment Options in Liver Metastases?
Treatment includes surgery, if possible, and some other additional treatments together with surgery. Here, the treatment plan varies according to the type of cancer from which the metastasis originates, the characteristics of the mass (or masses) and the patient's health conditions. Surgical removal of liver metastases gives very good results in large intestine cancers and a special type of cancer called neuroendocrine tumor.
For this reason, every effort is made to remove a part of the liver (liver resections) to include the tumor (or tumors) in patients in these two groups. In some suitable cases, surgery can be performed laparoscopically.
Another important point in the choice of surgical treatment is that the remaining liver tissue after removal of the tumor (or tumors) will be sufficient for the patient. On the other hand, liver surgeries are the biggest surgeries among all surgical interventions and they put a great burden on the patient.
The general health status of the patients should be at a level that can handle these surgeries. In the end, all profit and loss calculations are discussed between the physician and the patient, and the surgical decision is made. The liver is a self-renewing organ that can grow with different stimuli.
There are different strategies for this purpose and can be successfully implemented by experienced teams. The portal vein, which is one of the main vessels that brings blood to a lobe of the liver, can be radiologically occluded (embolization) and the opposite side is enlarged.
Another option is to perform a gradual surgery on the patient. In the first operation, some of the tumors are cleaned and in the second stage, the portal vein of the lobe to be removed is ligated. In the second operation, this lobe is removed and the tumors are cleaned in the patient. These complex approaches are for complete removal of tumors after surgery in the patient and require very specific surgical and radiological techniques.
Liver me Chemotherapy is usually used for tastases. Cancer that has spread from another organ or tissue in the liver is already an indicator of advanced stage disease (Stage 4). Patients are candidates for chemotherapy, with or without surgery. On the other hand, a patient with a large number of tumors that cannot be surgically removed at the time the disease is first diagnosed can respond to chemotherapy, and tumors that shrink or disappear can be re-evaluated and surgery can be performed this time after chemotherapy. Ablation procedures such as burning of tumors with the help of chemo are the approaches included in the metastasis treatment plan. These methods can be applied in cases where surgery cannot be applied or in combination with surgical procedure. The success rates of these treatments alone are far behind surgery and can only be applied in selected patients.
Does Liver Have Benign Tumors?
Benign tumors can also be found in the liver besides cancers. The most common benign tumors of the liver are hemangioma, adenoma, and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH). These tumors may be clinically silent and the diagnosis may be made incidentally. However, some patients may also experience abdominal pain. Diagnosis is usually made radiologically.
Sometimes, especially small hemangiomas, can be detected incidentally during surgery. Today, advanced radiological methods can make the diagnosis to a great extent. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to diagnose tissue by biopsy.
Hemangiomas are the most common benign tumors of the liver. There is no risk of cancer, and the risk of bleeding by tearing is low. Therefore, patients are usually followed up with serial imaging studies. However, these tumors can sometimes cause severe abdominal pain that bothers the patient or they grow to be dangerous in the liver; In these patients, surgical treatment should be considered. Most patients require removal of a portion of the liver to contain the tumor (liver resections). This surgery can also be performed laparoscopically in suitable cases.
The risk of cancerization of focal nodular hyperplasia
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