because of the suppression of the immune system that allows the transplanted liver to function. Rarely, cancer is not found in the liver until after a person has had a transplant for another reason. Such patients may be cured because the cancer is in an earlier stage.
The presence of tumor anywhere else in the body—lung, bone or lymph nodes , for example—means that removal of the liver tumor alone will not bring about a cure. If the disease has already metastasized, removing part of a liver tumor is not considered beneficial because of the side effects of surgery, including a long recuperative period.
• Investigational A new surgical technique called cryosurgery involves freezing the tumor tissue by placing a
cold probe directly into it. A tumor that cannot be removed because it is too close to blood vessels or because
of extensive underlying liver disease may be "killed" by this technique. The effectiveness of this therapy is
being evaluated.
Chemotherapy Chemotherapy may result in tumor shrinkage, but this does not necessarily
prolong survival. The standard drug, Adriamycin , may shrink tumors in 15 to 20 percent of patients and seems to help some. But the side effects of this drug, including nausea, vomiting and hair loss, may leave patients in a worse condition even if the tumor shrinks. Other drugs that may decrease the tumor size are 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin-C , etoposide and mitoxantrone , although these have similar side effects to Adriamycin.
