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Metastatic Liver Cancer: How Long Can You Live With It And More
Cancer that has spread from the liver can be especially aggressive, however, new and better treatments are being developed all the time.
Liver cancer is cancer that begins in the liver. If the cancer has metastasized, that means it has spread outside of the liver.
The most common form of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This cancer starts in liver cells called hepatocytes.
Less common liver cancers include angiosarcomas and hemangiosarcomas. These cancers start in the cells that line the liver's blood vessels. Another type of liver cancer called hepatoblastoma usually affects children under 4 years of age.
When cancer starts in the liver, it's considered primary liver cancer. Other types of cancer can spread to the liver, but they're not liver cancer.
These are called secondary liver cancers. Secondary liver cancer is more common than primary liver cancer in the United States and Europe.
How long you live with this cancer depends on a few factors, including:
In one small study of people with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, those whose liver cancer had spread to their lymph nodes or distant organs had an average survival rate of 4 and 11 months, depending on the severity of their liver damage and whether they received treatment.
Keep in mind that these are just average numbers from large groups of people. Your survival time may be different based on the type of treatment you get, the characteristics of your specific cancer, and your overall health.
Relative survival rates reflect how likely people with late-stage liver cancers are to survive for a certain period of time compared to people who don't have that cancer.
The relative 5-year survival rate for liver cancer that has spread to lymph nodes or other nearby tissues is 11 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. When the cancer has spread to the lungs, bones, or other organs, the relative 5-year survival rate is 2 percent.
Remember that these numbers come from studies done on large groups of people. Your outlook may be very different.
Also, the statistics that doctors use today are at least 5 years old. Treatments have improved since then.
You may not have symptoms at first. As the disease progresses, your symptoms could include:
The symptoms of metastasis depend on where new tumors form. If you've ever been diagnosed with liver cancer, report all new or unexplained symptoms to your doctor.
Abnormal cells usually die off and are replaced by healthy cells. Sometimes, instead of dying off, these cells reproduce. As the cell numbers grow, tumors begin to form.
The overgrowth of abnormal cells can invade nearby tissue. By traveling through lymph or blood vessels, the cancerous cells can move all around the body. If they invade other tissues or organs, new tumors can form.
If the cancer invades nearby tissue or organs, it's considered "regional spread." This can happen during stage 3C or stage 4A liver cancer.
In Stage 3C, a liver tumor is growing into another organ (not including the gallbladder). A tumor could also be pushing into the outer layer of the liver.
In Stage 4A, there are one or more tumors of any size in the liver. Some have reached blood vessels or nearby organs. Cancer is also found in nearby lymph nodes.
Cancer that has metastasized to a distant organ, such as to the colon or lungs, is considered stage 4B.
In addition to telling how far the cancer has spread, staging helps determine which treatments may be most helpful.
Remission means that you have fewer or no signs or symptoms of liver cancer after treatment. It doesn't mean that you're cured. You still might have cancer cells in your body, but your disease is under control.
Thanks to new targeted therapies like sorafenib (Nexavar), a very small percentage of people with late-stage liver cancer may go into complete remission.
If you go into remission, your doctor will monitor you regularly. And if your cancer returns, you'll start on treatment again.
There's no cure for advanced liver cancer, but treatment can help slow its spread and ease symptoms. Your doctor will recommend a treatment based on where your cancer has spread and how well your liver still works.
Other key factors to consider include any previous treatments you've had, the health of your liver, and your overall health.
Treatments for metastatic liver cancer can include the following:
You may also need medications to relieve pain, fatigue, and other cancer symptoms.
Whatever treatment you choose, you may experience some side effects. Don't hesitate to ask questions and be open with your doctor about any side effects that affect your quality of life.
Your oncologist may also be able to provide information on clinical trials. These studies test new treatments for liver cancer. They may give you access to a therapy that isn't yet available to the public.
Eating well won't cure cancer, but it can give your body the strength and nutrients it needs during treatment. Try to eat all of these food types:
Avoid sweets and fried foods, which are low in nutrients. Also avoid or limit alcohol because it can be harmful to your liver. Do drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated.
Both liver cancer and some of its treatments may cause nausea, which might make it harder for you to eat. Eating several small meals instead of three large ones may be easier on your digestive system.
If you're not sure what to eat or you're having trouble eating, talk to your doctor. You can also get advice from a dietitian who works with people who are living with cancer.
Having liver cancer can feel scary or overwhelming. Don't try to manage it all alone. These organizations can help you better understand your diagnosis, and offer support:
Once the cancer spreads beyond your liver, it isn't curable. But there are treatments to help slow it down, and new treatments are being investigated in clinical trials.
The survival time for liver cancer that has spread to distant organs is sometimes measured in months, which can be scary. Remember that you're not a statistic, and you might do much better than the numbers suggest.
Certain factors contribute to your outlook. Many people with metastatic liver cancer also have other liver conditions, such as cirrhosis. Having cirrhosis could affect the ability to treat your cancer.
Also, keep in mind that the statistics you read about this cancer are based on large groups of people. To get a better idea of your outlook, talk with your oncologist.
If you've already been treated for liver cancer, tell your doctor about any new symptoms you have. The sooner you start treatment again, the better your long-term outlook will be.
New Study Shows Immigrant Adults With Liver Cancer Have Higher Survival Rates Than Those Born In The US
Immigrant adults with liver cancer in the United States have higher survival rates than people with the disease who were born in the U.S., according to new research from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, contributes to more than 27,000 deaths annually in the United States. Immigrants comprise a significant proportion of those diagnosed with HCC in the U.S. Research has shown that birthplace, also referred to as nativity, impacts incidence and risk factors for HCC, but little was known about its influence on survival after diagnosis.
The new study, just published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, identified a previously unrecognized disparity in survival after a diagnosis of liver cancer across all major racial/ethnic groups, with immigrants having better survival compared to those born in the U.S. This study is one of the first to robustly address nativity status as a predictor of overall survival for adults with HCC and provides important estimates of HCC survival by region of birth.
"Liver cancer is one of few cancers with increasing deaths. We identified a novel disparity by birthplace, whereby immigrants with liver cancer demonstrated better survival than their U.S.-born counterparts," said study author Kali Zhou, MD, member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program at the USC Norris cancer center and a transplant hepatologist specializing in the treatment of chronic liver disease at Keck Medicine of USC. "This was true across different racial/ethnic groups. This finding is important as liver cancer rates are rising among U.S.-born and understanding why immigrants have better outcomes may help us create strategies to improve the survival of those born here."
California has a high concentration of immigrants, representing about a quarter of the foreign-born population nationwide. This study used California Cancer Registry data to investigate whether birthplace impacts survival among patients with liver cancer, a cancer with poor prognosis that is common among immigrants, though rising in those born in the U.S.
Zhou, who is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and her colleagues identified 51,533 adults with HCC with available birthplace data in the California Cancer Registry between 1988 and 2017, of which 20,400 were people who were born in foreign countries. Cases were categorized as people who are born in the U.S. Or people born in any other country, then stratified by four mutually exclusive race and ethnicity groups: Hispanic, non-Hispanic (NH) White, NH Black, and NH Asian/Pacific Islander. Results showed that 40% of all HCC cases were among those born outside of the U.S., and that their five-year survival rate was higher than patients with HCC who were born in the U.S. Across all four major race and ethnicity groups. Among foreign-born people, lower mortality was observed in those from Central and South America compared to Mexico for Hispanics, East Asia compared to Southeast Asia for Asian/Pacific Islanders, and East Europe and Greater Middle East compared to West/South/North Europe for Whites.
The population-based California Cancer Registry provided a unique opportunity to compare HCC survival by nativity overall separated by regions of origin within individual race and ethnicity groups. Understanding the reasons for better survival among immigrants may help researchers address the disparity in survival rates by identifying ways to improve outcomes for people born in the U.S.
More information: Association of Nativity with Survival among Adults with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2023). DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad067 academic.Oup.Com/jnci/advance- … jnci/djad067/7152982
Citation: New study shows immigrant adults with liver cancer have higher survival rates than those born in the US (2023, May 10) retrieved 28 May 2023 from https://medicalxpress.Com/news/2023-05-immigrant-adults-liver-cancer-higher.Html
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Foreign-Born Patients With HCC May Have Improved Survival Versus U.S.-Born Patients
Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, who were born outside of the United States may have better survival compared with those born in the U.S., according to findings from a recent study.
As a result of these findings, more research is needed to determine what might be the driver behind this survival benefit, said Dr. Kali Zhou, transplant hepatologist and assistant professor in the division of gastrointestinal and liver diseases at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, in an interview with CURE®.
"I think that's the million-dollar question: what is the driver? And this study isn't really quite setup to figure that out," she said. "But, of course, we have some theories."
One of these theories includes what Zhou referred to as the "healthy-immigrant effect," which she said has been seen in all cancer types regarding the association between improved survival in immigrants compared with those born in the U.S.
"Many of the immigrants that come to the United States, either they have healthier lifestyles because of their lifestyles in their native countries, or because they are able to immigrate, maybe they are healthier to begin with," Zhou said. "So they have less comorbid diseases that lead to higher rates of death that isn't necessarily related to the cancer itself."
In the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zhou and colleagues analyzed data from 51,533 patients with HCC, of whom 40% were born outside of the U.S. Of the foreign-born patients, 92.2% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 45.2% were Hispanic, 9.1% were White and 5.8% were Black.
The main outcome that was assessed was all-cause mortality, which refers to death from any cause (including cancer).
Results demonstrated that five-year survival rates were higher in foreign-born patients vs. Those born in the U.S. Nativity, or where a person is born, was linked with survival, and patients born outside of the U.S. Had better survival compared with those born in the U.S.
"Certainly, socioeconomic factors might be different between the two groups," Zhou said. "Some people postulate that social networks are potentially stronger amongst immigrants in some cases, that allows them to maybe overcome the negative aspects of potentially being an immigrant such as difficulty accessing the health care system, language barriers, etc."
Zhou and colleagues also analyzed outcomes in patients based on regions they were born. For example, Hispanic patients born in Central and South America had lower mortality rates compared with those born in Mexico. This was also seen in Asian/Pacific Islander patients (East Asia versus Southeast Asia) and White patients (East Europe and Greater Middle East versus West/South/North Europe).
"I think even amongst immigrants, there's quite a lot of heterogeneity (or diversity)," Zhou said. "And I think the study highlights similar groups that are even at greater risk of worse outcomes. And these are sort of groups that we need to focus on, but also better understand why we're seeing these differences by region as well among the foreign born."
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