What is the Cost of Liver Cancer Treatment?

The Cost of Liver Cancer Treatment in India: What Families Need to Know

The liver is among the most essential organs in the human body. The liver performs a variety of vital functions, such as protein synthesis, removal of toxin from the blood and regulation of fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Therefore, it is recommended to treat any issue related to the liver at the earliest. If you are exploring treatment options, it's helpful to know that liver cancer treatment cost in India depends on the type of therapy and hospital chosen.

What is Liver Cancer?

Liver cancer is a cancer in the cells of the liver. The liver is the most critical and largest organ in our body. It lies down under the ribs, on the right side of the abdomen.

Liver has many essential functions, such as:

• To make and store sugars and fat. They can be used for energy.
• To help make bile, which aids in digesting food
• Making essential proteins that can be used by the body
• To break or damage harmful chemicals

Types of Liver Cancer

There are two types of liver cancer. Let’s discuss them.

Liver Cancer Treatment Cost

Let us review the table to determine the approximate price of Liver Cancer Treatment in Different Indian Cities:

Note: The prices are sourced from external sources and may vary. 

• Early-stage (surgery/ablation): ₹2L–5L.
• Advanced-stage (targeted therapy/immunotherapy): ₹5L–30L.
• Liver transplant: ₹15L–35L.

What are the Benefits of Timely Liver Cancer Treatment?

Early and appropriate liver cancer treatment provides the patient with various important benefits that can significantly impact patient outcomes and quality of life:

 Some of the advantages are listed below:

• Improved Survival Rates : Prompt treatment, especially when cancer is detected early, significantly increases the chances of successful recovery and long-term survival for most cancer types.
• Better Treatment Response : Early-stage cancers typically respond better to treatment interventions. This means less aggressive therapies may be required, reducing both physical impact and treatment costs.
• Preserved Quality of Life : Timely intervention helps maintain physical function and emotional well-being. Patients can do their daily activities and maintain independence throughout their treatment journey.
• Cost-Effectiveness : Treating liver cancer early can also include less complex and less expensive procedures, that can significantly lessen the financial burden of the patient.
• Reduced Long-term Complications : Early treatment helps prevent cancer from spreading and reduces the risk of complications. This approach lessens the need for more extensive and expensive treatments later on.

What are the symptoms of liver cancer?

In the early stages of liver cancer, the individual may not come across any symptom. Other people may experience symptoms such as:

• Feeling exhausted
• Fever
• Itchy Skin
• Feeling weak
• Swelling in the upper right side of your abdomen
• Weight loss without trying
• Reduction in appetite
• Dark urine
• Vomiting or nausea
• Yellowish of your skin, or eyes
• Soreness or pain in your legs or ankles
• Pale, chalky bowel motions

What causes liver cancer?

The main cause of primary liver cancer is not known yet. The chances of developing primary liver cancer increase if individuals already have permanent scarring to the liver, where scar tissue replaces many healthy liver cells. This damage to the liver is also known as cirrhosis.

Many individuals develop liver cancer without first having cirrhosis. It can take place if individuals have a long-term hepatitis B infection or MAFLD.

Other risk factors for primary liver cancer are:

• Smoking
• Family history of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
• Being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, as this increases your risk of hepatitis B infection
• Born in a place that has a high rate of hepatitis B infection
• Hepatitis C
• Heavy alcohol use
• Exposure to aflatoxins (toxins from moldy grains)
• Obesity and type 2 diabetes

How Is Liver Cancer Treated?

Doctors treat liver cancer with medical treatments or surgery.

Medical treatments involve:

• Chemotherapy
• Chemoembolization
• Immunotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Radioembolization
• Targeted therapy
• TACE (Transarterial Chemoembolization)
• RFA (Radiofrequency Ablation) for localized tumor

Surgical treatments may include:

• Ablation
• Hepatectomy  (removal of part of the liver)
• Liver transplantation

Who treats liver cancer?

We have discussed the symptoms and causes of liver cancer, now let’s understand who treats liver cancer.

The situation of the patient help finalise who will treat the cancer. Patients can have different types of doctors on their treatment.

Different doctors involved include:

Apart from these doctors, many other specialists may be involved in your treatment such as nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, and other health experts.

How is Liver Cancer Diagnosed?

Your health care expert may ask you about your physical symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, abdominal pain, or jaundice, etc. After this, if the doctor suspects liver cancer, he will refer you some tests.

Common Tests include:

• Blood tests : Imaging Tests (such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT) scans, or PET-CT scan).
•  For Secondary Liver Cancer : Therefore, Individuals suffering from secondary liver cancer may also be asked to perform other tests to find out where the primary cancer is, if this is not clear. It can include blood tests, endoscopy and urine tests.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) blood test is commonly used to detect liver cancer.

Summing Up

Liver cancer is a life-threatening cancerous tumor in the liver. Liver is the most essential organ in the human body. No one can survive without their liver.

 If liver cancer is detected early, is small, has not spread yet, doctors may perform surgery and remove it.