Q. What are the alternative treatments for liver cancer stage 4?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
The great news is that there are several alternative treatments available for liver cancer patients in stage 4. Depending on the individual, these treatments can be just as effective as traditional therapies and have been used successfully to improve long-term survival rates.
Immunotherapy: This is a type of treatment that uses specialized drugs to boost the body’s natural immune system so it can fight off cancer cells more effectively. Immune-based therapies like tumor vaccines and cytokine therapy may be helpful for some people with Stage 4 liver cancer.
Targeted Therapy: This type of treatment specifically targets certain genetic mutations or proteins that help cancer grow and spread throughout the body, thus preventing them from further doing damage to the organ systems affected by liver cancer. Examples of targeted therapy include erlotinib (Tarceva®), sorafenib (Nexavar®), ramucirumab (Cyramza®) and others depending on specific biomarkers present in each patient’s tumor history or genes mutated within their tumors cells themselves.
Radiofrequency Ablation: RF ablation is a minimally-invasive procedure used to heat up specific areas of tumor tissues using radio waves in order to kill them off without causing too much damage to surrounding healthy tissues or organs such as livers, kidneys, etc... Sometimes this procedure might require additional imaging equipment such as an ultrasound probe in order for doctors/radiologists properly identify where exactly target tumors are located before commencing with treatment itself - so it's best if you consult with your doctor first if this might be an appropriate option for you!
Transarterial Embolization: TACE involves injecting chemotherapy drugs directly into an arterial branch feeding into a hollow tissue like those found within cancers before blocking them off via liquid embolic materials - ultimately resulting higher concentrations chemotherapy agents at site localized around target tumors rather than having them circulate whole entire circulatory system which could result potential unwanted side effects elsewhere! It's important note however that not all cancers are suitable candidates eligible undergoing TACE due presence other factors such extent metastasis/largeness its size/etc…so again please speak your doctor professional determine its suitability according needs accordingly today!