HomeAnswersMedical oncologyliver cancerMy father has hepatitis and IHCC. Can chemotherapy be done?

Is chemotherapy the treatment of choice for IHCC?

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Published At November 12, 2022
Reviewed AtOctober 9, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

My father has been detected 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 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.

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. Blood test for alpha-fetoprotein if in favor of hepatocellular carcinoma.

2. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to look for any lesion.

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 if targeted therapy is possible.

I hope this helps.

Thank you and take care.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Abdul Aziz Khan
Dr. Abdul Aziz Khan

Medical oncology

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