Are there treatments for secondary liver cancers?
The liver is involved in approximately 1/3 of all cancers and often those that begin in the gastrointestinal tract, colon, pancreas, stomach, breast and lung. The risk factors involved in this type of liver cancer are numerous given that the cancers originate elsewhere. The prognosis for patients with secondary liver tumors depends on the primary site of malignancy. In general, patients do not live longer than one year from the diagnosis of hepatic metastases. Treatments remain unsatisfactory but include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and embolization. Can liver cancer be prevented? Prevention is the best defence against liver cancer. Worldwide, the most common risk factor for liver cancer is chronic hepatitis B and C infection. Therefore, prevention of these forms of liver disease is important. The Canadian Liver Foundation recommends that all children as well as adults at high risk should be vaccinated against hepatitis B. Since there is no vaccine against hepatitis C, it is important
