If liver cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, and the rest of the liver is healthy, surgery to remove part of the liver is an option. However, if surgery is not an option because the rest of the liver is not healthy, transplant could be taken into consideration. However, transplant candidates may have to wait a long time for an organ to become available.

For those with inoperable liver cancer that has not spread – because the tumor is too large, is in part of the organ that makes it hard to remove, disease has spread throughout the organ or the patient is not healthy – treatment may include ablation, embolization, or both; targeted therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

To treat advanced liver cancer, initial treatment may include immunotherapy or targeted therapies. In this instance, radiation may relieve pain or other symptoms associated with the disease

Treatment for recurrent disease that was resectable initially may be eligible for further surgery or ablation or embolization. For those with unresectable disease initially, targeted therapy, immunotherapy or chemotherapy may be used.