The process of disease spreading from one place to another is called metastasis. Metastatic disease in the liver is often cancer that originated somewhere else in the body. The liver is one of the most common sites to spread of many types of cancer, including colorectal, breast, pancreatic, lung, and biliary adenocarcinomas.
Treating cancer that has spread to the liver includes medical, surgical, and minimally invasive therapies that aim to improve the survival and quality of life for patients. Recently, multiple new advanced therapies to treat metastatic liver cancer have been developed and are minimally invasive. Studies have shown that these treatments are safe, well-tolerated, and can improve both the quality of life and survival of the patients treated.
Many treatments are available for metastatic disease to the liver, including:
- Medical treatments such as chemotherapy
- Surgery or liver transplantation
- Minimally invasive treatments by an interventional radiologist, such as percutaneous ablation, chemoembolization, and radioembolization (Y90)
The treatment that is best for each patient is decided with a discussion between a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, and interventional radiologist.