American Cancer Society provides an update of 5-year relative survival statistics based on liver cancer stages and it’s as follow:

Early stage of primary liver cancer: 31%

Liver cancer metastasis to lymph nodes: 11%

Liver cancer metastasis to distant organ: 3%

From the data listed above, it can be concluded that early detection and treatment are the key factors to improve liver cancer patients’ survival rate. Only after knowing the stages of  liver cancer can doctors make appropriate treatment plans and prognosis after treatment. How is liver cancer staged?

If you want to know more about liver cancer treatment, we are here to offer help. Make an online appointment or call at 02-8-822122 (Manila Office) or 0917-599-2277 (Cebu Office) for free expert consultation.

TNM system

The staging system most often used for cancer is TNM.

In the TNM system:

The T refers to the size and extent of the primary tumor. T1, T2, T3, T4: Refers to the size and/or extent of the main tumor. The higher the number after the T, the larger the tumor or the more it has grown into nearby tissues.

The N refer to the number of nearby lymph nodes that have cancer. N1, N2, N3: Refers to the number and location of lymph nodes that contain cancer. The higher the number after the N, the more lymph nodes that contain cancer.

The M refers to whether the cancer has metastasized. This means that the cancer has spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body. M0, M1: Cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.

Liver Cancer Stages and Corresponding Treatments

(The treatment for different stages of liver cancer is only for reference)

Liver Cancer stage I: T1a, T1b, N0, M0

Treatment for liver cancer stage I: Surgery, Interventional Therapy

Liver Cancer stage II: T2, N0, M0

Treatment for Liver cancer stage II: Surgery, Interventional Therapy, Cryotherapy, Nanoknife, Particle Implantation, Microwave ablation, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, Natural Therapy

Liver Cancer stage III: T3-T4, N0, M0

Treatment for Liver cancer stage III: Interventional Therapy, Cryotherapy, particle implantation, Natural Therapy, Nanoknife, Microwave ablation, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine.

Liver Cancer stage IV: Any T stage, Any N stage, M1

Treatment for Liver cancer stage IV: Interventional Therapy, NanoKnife, Cryotherapy, Particle Implantation, Natural Therapy, Microwave ablation, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine.

Recurrent Liver Cancer: The postoperative recurrence rate of liver cancer is about 60%-70%, which is much higher than that of lung cancer, breast cancer and other common cancer types. When liver cancer recurs, usually there is more than one tumor, multiple tumors will be found at different parts of the body.

Treatment for Recurrent Liver Cancer: Interventional Therapy, Nanoknife, Microwave ablation, Cryotherapy, Particle Implantation, Natural Therapy, Gene Targeted Therapy, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine

We can offer help if you are diagnosed with liver cancer, make an appointment online or contact us at 02-8-822122 (Manila Office) or at 0917-599-2277 (Cebu Office) for a second opinion.

Different stages of liver cancer have different treatments. In St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou, our Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) will plan treatment for liver cancer patient base on their body conditions and cancer stage, size and the location of the tumor, which prevents liver cancer patients from surgery and side effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.