Can we consider chemotherapy as a treatment option for IHCC?

Question

Hello doctor,

My father has been diagnosed with cancer of the liver. We have done MRI, CT, and biopsy. He has had a history of hepatitis B for ten years. There are two tumors in his liver, one measuring more than 5 cm. Due to the tumor size and chronic condition, doctors have ruled out surgery or radiofrequency ablation.

Also, since it is an IHCC, a liver transplant is ruled out by doctors. The only option suggested is chemotherapy; if he responds to it, we can give him more. And they said that chemotherapy would only slow down the advance of the disease and not cure it. Just wanted to know if we are in the right direction and if we should go for chemotherapy. Kindly help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

From your description of chronic liver disease due to hepatitis B and liver lesions, the possibility of hepatocellular carcinoma is high, but based on the histopathology report (attachments removed to protect the patient's identity), it is in favor of primary lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract, and the liver lesions are secondary deposits.

So I suggest the following:

1. A blood test for alpha-fetoprotein is in favor of hepatocellular carcinoma.

2. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to look for any lesions.

3. Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look for any lesion other than in the liver.

After the above information, I can suggest whether targeted therapy is possible.

I hope this helps.