Liver Cancer Stages
Staging is the way to describe where your liver cancer is located in cases where the cancer has spread to other nearby tissues and organs. Additionally, staging helps your doctor offer you a measurement of your prognosis and chances of recovery.
Stage 1 Liver Cancer
Early stage liver cancer (stage 1 liver cancer), can be cured with radiofrequency ablation or a liver transplant. At this point, the tumor is small and isn’t putting any pressure on the portal vein, the vein that carries blood from various organs (gastrointestinal tract, bladder, pancreas, and spleen) to the liver.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses imaging to guide a needle to through the skin into a liver tumor. High-frequency electrical currents are passed through the needle, using heat to destroy cancer cells.
According to the Radiological Society of North America, the success rate for RFA treatment in eradicating small liver tumors is more than 85 percent.
Stage 2 Liver Cancer
Stage 2 liver cancer involves a primary tumor which has grown into the blood vessels, or there are several small tumors – all less than 2 inches in width.
At this point, the cancer has not spread to any nearby tissues, organs or lymph nodes.
Stage 3 Liver Cancer
Stage 3 liver cancer is divided into three categories:
- Stage 3A involves several tumors, and at least one is more than 2 inches wide. At this point, the cancer is yet to spread to lymph nodes or nearby tissues and organs.
- Stage 3B involves several tumors, and at least one of these is infringing upon the branch of the portal vein or hepatic vessel, the short blood vessel supplying oxygenated blood to the liver and other nearby vital organs, and the cancer still has not spread to nearby tissues and organs.
- Stage 3C involves a tumor that has grown into a nearby organ, or the tumors have grown into a layer of the liver. However, it still has not spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, and organs.
Stage 4 Liver Cancer
Stage 4 liver cancer is the most advanced form where the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and may be growing into blood vessels or organs.
Liver cancer does not metastasize (spread) to distant organs, but when it does, the lungs and the bones are usually affected.
The Reality of Stage 4 Cancer
Stage 4 means your cancer has spread from the liver to other organs and tissues. Moreover, stage 4 has some complicated symptoms.
Symptoms of stage 4 liver cancer include:
- Weight loss and loss of appetite
- Persistent nausea and vomiting
- Jaundice
- Weakness and fatigue
- Fever
- Enlarged liver or spleen
- Swelling of the abdomen
Stage 4 is the final stage of liver cancer so it is important to understand those liver cancer symptoms may progress and worsen over time.
Even in this stage, your cancer is treatable. Chemoembolization (a form of chemotherapy) and targeted therapies with kinase inhibitor drugs can slow down the growth of tumors.
Your doctor may also recommend treatments to help ease symptoms associated with this late liver cancer stage.
In general, the life expectancy of someone with stage 4 liver cancer is not good, as doctors consider this stage to be the most critical. This advanced stage means things are going to get worse with time.
The average survival of someone in this stage is six months to two years. However, life expectancy with liver cancer is not an exact science and how long you live and whether you could potentially be cured will depend on your overall health.
Survival Rates are General Statistics
Survival rates are based on the length of time others have survived after being diagnosed, either 5 or 10 years after diagnosis. These rates include people who are cancer-free and those still treating for liver cancer.
Because survival rates are based on outcomes for people who have previously had liver cancer, they cannot tell you what will happen in your particular case.
Your doctor is the person who is in the best position to explain how the numbers may apply to you and your particular case.
