With advanced bowel cancer it usually spreads to the liver and is incurable but can it not be cured with removal of the bowel tumour then a liver transplant.
With advanced bowel cancer it usually spreads to the liver and is incurable but can it not be cured with removal of the bowel tumour then a liver transplant.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Depends on your definition of “cure”. Removal of the bowel tumour together with resection of the liver to remove the affected part can be effective in increasing both life expectancy and quality of life.
But it has to be said that most adults with metastatic cancers do not go on to die of something else. Sorry to be depressing.
The liver is the one organ in the body that can regenerate. You can remove quite a lot of the liver and it will grow back.
I know a bit about this because my husband had bowel cancer 5 years ago (he’s still well after surgery, fingers crossed).
Here’s a site that gives you info from the experts.
February 6th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
i think, quite unlikely
February 7th, 2010 at 1:02 am
Not if the matastised cancer is flowing around the body, basically it will grow somewhere else.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:49 am
The person would likely not be a candidate for a new liver if they have metastatic cancer.
February 7th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Bowel cancer does usually metastasise to the liver first, then the lungs (this being more common in patients with rectal or rectosigmoid primaries).
If someone has been told it is incurable, then the medical team in charge of his/her care with pull clinical, histological and radiological information before them have to be accepted as being correct.
If this is a more general question, then colorectal ca with spread to the liver isn’t always fatal. CT scan will have shown liver mets, quite likely if they are considered operable, MRI will have confirmed, maybe even PET CT. If the primary bowel lesion is still to be resected, then several options are available.
The bowel lesion will be resected (most of the time even in terminal cases to prevent obstruction) and what is becoming more commonplace is for an intraoperative ultrasound of the liver to see if there are more lesions than CT scan is revealing (a limitation of the thickness of slices on CT). If everything is ok, and the lesions are in operable segments, then the patient will normally go for adjuvant (post operative) chemo, which in the UK tends to be oxaliplatin +/- 5fu, although not always. They will then have their liver resection.
The liver has 4 lobes, and 8 segments, i,ii,iii,iva,ivb,v,vi,vii,viii. Providing it is anatomically possible, and that enough residual liver will remain to prevent decompensation, resection will go ahead, even with multiple liver mets. In some cases with little residual left lobe for example, this can be embolised to grow new liver prior to resection. Ablation can also be performed on <5cm tumours during the operation for those in unresectable segments. Liver transplantation is not an option in secondary liver cancer.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Not sure. But here is some encouraging latest news:
US scientists crack entire genetic code of breast and colon cancers
Research on cancer and the genetic code looks like it may at long last produce real breakthroughs
For more info, visit:http://www.librarynews.info/http://www.medical-research-study-direct…http://www.medical-research-study-direct…http://www.lasik-surgery-san-diego.info/http://www.san-diego-dentist.ushttp://www.san-diego-plastic-surgery-cos…http://www.acne-treatment-medicine-1.inf…
February 8th, 2010 at 1:11 am
Your right about the way it spreads to the liver, but it usually doesn’t stop there,other organs are infected sometimes too.
Possibly if it had only affected the liver as well a liver transplant would be an option, but on the NHS I very much doubt if you would be given the option I’m afraid.
I do hope you are not asking for this information because you are in the position you describe. If you are I hope I’m not giving you the wrong information.