Prognosis for Liver Cancer

The prognosis for liver cancer depends largely on the tumour stage at the time of diagnosis, whether the person can receive specific or symptomatic treatment and the response to this treatment. 

When detected at an early stage and treatment with surgery, ablation or liver transplant is given, the 5-year survival rate can exceed 70%. 

For intermediate stages, when the disease is limited to the liver, the patient may receive a transplant, chemoembolisation or systemic treatment. At this stage, the prognosis depends on the tumour distribution in the liver and whether or not the patient meets the hepatic transplant criteria. For people who receive chemoembolisation or systemic treatment, average survival is 2.5-3 years. 

However, in advanced stages, survival depends on the possibility or not of receiving specific treatment since, in some cases, having other diseases (comorbidities) can make it difficult for treatment to be administered.

Finally, the forecast for people with terminal liver cancer is very different from that of the other stages. The treatment recommended for this stage is mainly focused on relieving symptoms and improving the quality of life. 

People in this situation may have complications that significantly affect their health, and approximate survival after these complications appear is often less than six months.