Liver Cancer Treatment Research Advances 

There have been some promising developments in liver cancer treatment research in recent years. Doctors and scientists are still learning about the effectiveness of some of these therapies, and also refining techniques as more information becomes available.

Targeted therapy Targeted drugs focus on killing as many cancer cells as possible without causing much damage to normal tissues. Targeted drugs usually have different, less severe, side effects than traditional chemotherapy.

Since traditional chemo doesn't work well as a liver cancer treatment, a lot of recent research has been aimed at testing targeted drugs.

Tumor ablation The word "ablation" means removing material from the surface of an object by vaporization, chipping, or some other erosive process. In liver cancer treatment, it refers to treatment that destroys a tumor without removing it.

Tumor ablation works best for patients who only have a few small tumors that cannot be removed surgically. This type of therapy is sometimes used to treat patients waiting for a transplant.

Ablation usually doesn't cure liver cancer, but it can help patients live longer.

Embolization This type of treatment involves putting a substance into the artery that carries blood to the tumor. This, in effect "starves" the tumor and reduces it capability to grow. Embolization is another way to deal with tumors that can't be surgically removed.

Chemoembolization is a variation of this technique. A chemotherapy drug is added to the embolization process. Studies are in progress to see how well this works.

Radioembolization combines embolization with radiation treatment. Small radioactive beads are fed into the artery that goes to the liver.

For information about more common, traditional therapies, click on liver cancer treatment. Also see our related article on the growing dangers of liver cancer.