As per the TNM system for staging, liver cancer is categorized into four stages and several sub-stages.

• Stage 1: At the onset of liver cancer, a tumour develops within the liver. However, effects of the tumour are localized, as it is yet to come in contact with any blood vessels.
• Stage 2:The tumour grows in dimension reaching a size up to 5 cm across. The possibility of developing several small tumours is also there. Though the tumour has grown into blood vessels, the spread is still localised.
• Stage 3:This stage is also characterised by outgrowth of the tumour(s). The average size of the tumour is 5 cm across, and surrounding lymph nodes still remain immune to the cancer.
• Stage 3B: One or more tumours intrude into the portal or hepatic vein of the liver. Here the nearby lymph nodes and distant body organs are yet to get in contact with the malignancy.
• Stage 3C:The tumour has either engulfed the outer surface of the liver or penetrated into nearby organs. Distant sites are still not affected by the cancer.
• Stage 4A: The size and number of tumours in the liver grow phenomenally. This stage also marks the spread of tumours into lymph nodes, blood vessels or surrounding organs. The distant sites are still unaffected.
• Stage 4B:The entire body is infected by the malignant cells.

SYMPTOMS

The general prognosis of liver cancer is awful. The symptoms remain dormant in the early stages and when they surface, the disease becomes virtually uncontrollable. The standard signs and symptoms of liver cancer may include, but not limited to, liver overgrowth, white-collared stools and skin turning yellow. Other non-specific symptoms include sudden and drastic weight loss, appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, constant fatigue and atypical swelling. These symptoms are called nonspecific, as other chronic disorders may trigger similar effects.

Treatment

The treatment options for liver cancer are –

• Surgery: Surgical procedures to treat liver cancer involve removing either a part or the entire liver, based on how far the liver cancer has progressed. A liver transplant is required in case the entire liver is excised.
• Chemotherapy: In this treatment, certain medications are injected into the body to destroy the cancerous cells in the liver.
• Radio Surgery:If tumor is small we can do Radio surgery otherwise called Cyberknife or radioactive needle implanted in the tumor.