Metastatic liver cancer can be diagnosed once a different primary cancer spreads onto the liver. Basically, metastatic cancer can be the second stage of colon, breast, lung, pancreatic, or gastrointestinal tract cancers, among many others, showing the symptoms in the affected parts of the body, before actually affecting the liver.
Facts about Metastatic Liver Cancer
Metastatic liver cancer does not show any distinctive symptoms that are significantly different from those patients will already have suffered from since being diagnosed with their initial cancer. Yet, it can be diagnosed through tests like ultrasonography, spiral CT scanning with contrast, or MRI scanning with contrast. Once metastatic liver cancer is diagnosed, the patient's chances depend on various factors, which will differ from one individual to another. Special treatments reveal the stage of the metastatic liver cancer and help the medical staff know what the life expectancy of the patient is, along with what his or her possible treatment may be.
What Is The Survival Rate for Metastatic Liver Cancer?
A patient's chances of surviving metastatic liver cancer are very small. Basically, once a person is diagnosed with this condition, he or she typically has a life expectancy of between 6 months to 1 year. Even though certain cases of survival of metastatic liver cancer exist, these cases are extremely rare. This cancer behaves in the same way as pancreatic cancer and, as such, is life-threatening in most cases, with survival odds getting worse as it advances.
Nevertheless, the life expectancy of a person with metastatic liver cancer varies depending on the size and the type of the tumor, the stage of the cancer and the health of the liver, along with the mental and physical well-being of the patient.
Life Expectancy for Metastatic Liver Cancer
A study which was carried out in order to find out the average life expectancy rates for metastatic liver cancer came up with the following results.
Cancer of this type, treated with chemotherapy or not treated at all, provided people with life for one more year in about 13% of cases and 3 years in 3% of cases. On the other hand, chemoembolization gave patients with metastatic liver cancer another year in 55% of cases, 3 years in 26% of cases, and 5 years in 13% of cases. A hepatectomy, the surgical removal of part of the liver, granted an extra year for 72% of patients in this study, three more years in 58% of cases and the same percentage for 5 extra years of life. Finally, liver transplantation gives people another year to live in 81%, 3 years in 74% and 5 more years in 74% of cases.
However, these results were based on a relatively small sample size and cannot be taken as universal; each patient is different, and that is true for their cancer as well. Only 176 patients were involved in the study. Regardless, this data can serve as hypothetical life expectancy information. Early diagnosis and treatment increase the life expectancy, and patients can also attempt to take part in clinical trials. This can reduce symptoms, prolong life, and help future patients receive more advanced treatment.
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