什么是肝转移？
肝转移是一种癌性肿瘤，已从体内另一个地方的癌症中传播到肝脏。它也称为继发性肝癌。原发性肝癌起源于肝脏，最常影响具有危险因素的个体，例如肝炎或者肝硬化。
Most of the time, cancer in the liver is secondary, or metastatic.
在转移性肝肿瘤中发现的癌细胞不是肝细胞。它们是从原发性癌症开始的人体（例如癌性乳腺癌，结肠或肺部细胞）的细胞。
此条件的其他名称包括：
- 肝转移
- metastases to the liver
- IV期或晚期癌症
要了解肝转移，了解肝脏在您体内的作用很重要。这liver是体内最大的器官，对生活至关重要。肝脏分为两个裂片，位于右胸腔和肺部。
肝脏的工作包括：
- cleansing the blood of toxins
- making bile, which helps in digesting fat
- 使多种类型的蛋白质在整个身体中用于燃料和细胞再生
- making enzymes that initiate and participate in numerous body metabolic functions
- 储存糖原（糖），人体用于能量
这liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It’s impossible to live without a functioning liver.
这re may be no symptoms in the early stages of liver metastasis. In later stages, cancer can cause the liver to swell or obstruct the normal flow of blood and bile. When this happens, the following symptoms may occur:
- loss of appetite
- 减肥
- 深色尿液
- 腹部肿胀或者bloating
- 黄疸，皮肤或眼睛的白色
- 右肩疼痛
- 右上腹部的疼痛
- nausea
- vomiting
- confusion
- 汗和fever
- enlarged liver
当肝脏扩大时，可以在胸腔下方的腹部右侧感觉到肿块。
It’s important to see your doctor right away if you have any of the symptoms described above. The following symptoms indicate a more urgent and serious problem:
- persistent vomiting, meaning vomiting more than twice a day for more than one day
- 呕吐的血液
- 最近无法解释的减肥
- 黑排便
- difficulty swallowing
- 腿或腹部的新肿胀
- 黄疸或者yellowing of skin
You should see your doctor immediately if you develop symptoms of liver metastasis. If you’ve ever had any type of cancer, you should be seeing your doctor regularly for checkups.
这risk that cancer will spread, or metastasize, to the liver depends on the location of the original cancer. Primary cancers that are most likely to spread to the liver are cancers of the:
Even if the primary cancer is removed, liver metastasis can still occur years later. If you’ve had cancer, it’s important to learn the signs of liver metastasis and get regular checkups.
转移过程
转移过程有六个步骤。并非所有癌症都遵循此过程，但是大多数癌症都这样做。
- 局部侵袭：癌细胞从主要部位转移到附近的正常组织。
- 静脉注射：癌细胞穿过附近淋巴血管和血管的壁移动。
- Circulation: Cancer cells migrate through the lymphatic system and the bloodstream to other parts of the body.
- 一个rrest and extravasation: Cancer cells stop moving when they reach a distant location. They then move through the capillary (small blood vessel) walls and invade nearby tissue.
- Proliferation: Cancer cells grow at the distant location and create small tumors called micrometastases.
- 血管生成：微转移酶刺激新血管的产生，这些血管提供了肿瘤生长所需的养分和氧气。
这doctor may suspect liver cancer if the liver is enlarged on examination, if the liver surface is not smooth, or if any of the symptoms above are reported. Various kinds of testing will be needed to confirm the diagnosis. These tests include:
Liver function tests
Liver function tests是表明肝脏发挥程度的血液检查。出现问题时，肝酶水平通常会升高。血液或血清标记是与癌症有关的血液中的物质。当存在原发性肝癌时，血液中可能存在较高水平的α-毒素（AFP）。肝功能测试可以帮助区分原发性肝癌和肝转移。AFP标记也可用于监测原发性肝癌的治疗效果。
腹部的CT扫描
一个computed tomography（CT）扫描是一种特殊的X射线，可详细介绍软组织器官的视觉图像。癌组织的外观将具有飞蛾的外观。
肝脏
也称为超声检查超声transmits high-frequency sound waves through the body. These sound waves produce echoes. The echoes are then used to create map-like computerized images of the body’s soft-tissue structures.
MRI
磁共振成像（MRI）创建了内部器官和软组织结构的极其清晰的图像。它使用无线电波，大磁铁和计算机。
血管造影
In an angiogram, dye is injected into an artery. When images are taken of the body along that artery’s pathway, it can produce high-contrast images of internal structures.
Laparoscopy
这腹腔镜检查是带有光和活检（组织样品）工具的狭窄管。腹腔镜通过小切口插入，并在显微镜下进行活检进行研究。腹腔镜检查是诊断癌症最可靠的最低侵入性方法。
If your cancer has spread to the liver, it’s mostly likely stage IV. Staging assigns a number — 1 through 4) — to the cancer. Staging ranges from a localized tumor (1) to systemic metastases (spreading of cancer) to the bloodstream, lymphatic system, and other organs (2 through 4).
目前使用几种选择用于治疗已转移到肝脏的癌症。在大多数情况下，治疗将是姑息治疗的。这意味着它将用于控制癌症的症状和延长寿命，但不太可能导致治愈。通常，治疗的选择将取决于：
- the person’s age and overall health
- the size, location, and number of metastatic tumors
- 原发性癌症的位置和类型
- 患者过去的癌症治疗类型
全身疗法
全身性癌症疗法通过血液治疗整个身体。这些疗法包括：
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy是一种使用药物杀死癌细胞的治疗形式。它靶向快速生长和繁殖的细胞，包括一些健康的细胞。
生物反应修饰剂（BRM）疗法
BRM治疗是一种使用抗体，生长因子和疫苗来增强或恢复免疫系统的治疗方法。这有助于您的免疫系统对抗癌症的能力。BRM疗法没有其他癌症疗法的通常副作用，在大多数情况下，耐受性良好。
有针对性的疗法
靶向疗法也杀死癌细胞，但更精确。与化学疗法药物不同，靶向疗法可以区分癌症和健康细胞。这些药物可以杀死癌细胞并保持健康细胞完整。靶向疗法的副作用与其他一些癌症治疗不同。副作用可能很严重，包括疲劳和腹泻。
激素疗法
激素疗法can slow or stop the growth of certain types of tumors that rely on hormones to grow, such as breast and prostate cancer.
局部疗法
局部疗法仅针对肿瘤细胞和附近的组织。当肝肿瘤的大小和数量较小时，可以使用它们。
Radiation therapy
这个治疗使用高能辐射杀死癌细胞并收缩肿瘤。它可能来自：
- 辐射机，例如外束辐射
- 放射性材料放置在癌细胞附近的体内，称为内部辐射
- 穿过血液的放射性物质
射频消融（RFA）
RFA通常用于治疗原发性肝癌，可用于治疗肝转移。RFA是一种使用高频电流来产生破坏癌细胞的热量。
Surgical removal is possible when there are a small number of tumors that affect only a small area of the liver.
在几乎所有情况下,一旦一个主要癌症spread or metastasized to the liver there is no cure. However, current treatments can help to improve life expectancy and relieve symptoms.
这relative success of treatment depends on the location of the primary cancer and how much of it has spread to the liver.
当前的研究正在寻找战斗和杀死癌细胞的新方法，例如过度刺激免疫反应并破坏转移过程中的各个步骤。