Even stage IV liver cancer patients have chances of survival— this is the message that doctors in the city tried to convey through Liver Update 2012, a conference on liver surgery held in the city on Sunday.
Even stage IV liver cancer patients have chances of survival— this is the message that doctors in the city tried to convey through Liver Update 2012, a conference on liver surgery held in the city on Sunday.
The event aims to spread awareness about the various treatments available for liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Liver metastases refers to the cancer that is first detected in the colon and then spreads to the liver.
Dr Hitesh Chavda, organising secretary, Liver Update 2012, said that at least 20% of the patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer —stage IV liver cancer—can be cured completely.
He asserted that co-ordinated effort on part of doctors is required to help such patients. “It is not the work of surgeon alone. You need oncologists, radiologists and others. They need to work together to explore a range of treatments and develop the one that is of optimal use in a particular situation,” he explained.
Chavda added that not many medical practitioners are aware of the curability of this type of cancer. “This conference is an attempt to discuss the various modalities available and how they can be used best,” he said.
However, he cautioned that the curability was dependent on several factors including the size of the tumour, its aggressiveness etc. “Nowadays, molecular markers can tell a doctor how a patient will react to a certain therapy of cancer treatment,” he said.
He added that the exact cause of colon cancer is not known. “However, the instances of colon cancer are 10 times less than what we see in western countries,” he said. Chavda said that in 50% of the cases, colon cancer may spread to the liver as well. “In 30% of the cases, cancer would have spread from the colon to the liver by the time it is detected,” he added.
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