The liver is the largest solid organ in the abdomen that filters the blood, helps enzymes and bile in food digestion, and breaks down food that the body needs for growth and survival.

It has to be kept healthy in order to function well, and that includes following a high-fiber, low-fat diet, making time for exercise, saying no to smoking and alcohol, and avoiding food with aflatoxin—a kind of poison generated by a fungus that comes from food that’s not properly stored.

If you don’t take care of your liver, there’s a possibility of developing liver cancer where cells grow and divide abnormally, leading to the formation of tumors. The disease is caused by cirrhosis that can be brought about by chronic hepatitis B and C infection, excessive alcohol intake, fatty liver, and other metabolic origins of liver disease.

There are several types of liver cancer, which include hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or malignant hepatoma from hepatocytes, cholangiocarcinoma from bile ducts, and hepatoblastoma that is common in kids under 4 years old.

Swollen or bloated abdomen, loss of appetite, drastic weight loss, fatigue, pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, and jaundice are some of its symptoms, and these begin to manifest when the cancer starts to build up in one’s system.

If one experiences any of these symptoms, it’s important to schedule a medical check-up at a hospital known to handle cases of liver cancer like The Medical City. The premier medical institution offers complete services, from physical exams, blood tests, imaging, and biopsy, to the classification of the cancer into three main groups, namely localized resectable (operable) cancer, localized unresectable cancer, and advanced cancer.

The hospital also offers various methods for treatment such as surgery, ablation, embolization, external beam radiation therapy, systemic therapy, along with liver transplantation. During liver transplant surgery, the diseased liver is removed and replaced with a healthy one from a donor. Liver transplant surgery is only a viable option for those with early-stage liver cancer.

In 2017, The Medical City introduced Mircowave Ablation (MWA), a new technology that destroys tumors using heat generated by microwave energy, most widely recognized in the treatment of hepatic and renal malignancies.

While some tumors can be removed surgically, some are inoperable and must be treated through alternative means. One such method is image-guided tumor ablation, which refers to a group of treatment modalities that serve as important tools in the treatment of a wide range of tumors throughout the body.

MWA is a form of thermal ablation that uses electromagnetic waves in the microwave energy spectrum to produce tissue-heating effects. It is similar to radio frequency ablation (RFA), but it has some potential advantages over RFA. In MWA, the heating process is active, which

produces higher temperature than the passive heating of RFA, and allows for more complete thermal ablation in a shorter period of time.

In MWA, a probe is inserted into tumors, and micro electromagnetic waves are released to destroy and ablate the cancerous tissues directly. Since it targets and intensely affects the tumor, MWA does not produce obvious side effects to normal tissues.

The advantages of MWA over other ablative techniques include the ability to treat larger tumors, shorter procedure time, expanded treatment area (including areas close to major arteries and veins), shorter hospital stay, and lower recurrence rates.

MWA is applicable to patients who are inoperable due to age, poor physique, complications, or tumor’s adhesion or location; those who are not willing to do conventional surgery; those who are found not suitable to receive operation in intraoperative exploration; and patients with metastatic or recurrent cancer.

For more information, visit The Medical City Center for Liver Disease Management and Transplantation (CLDMT) or call 988-1000/988-7000 ext. 6506.