Surgery may be used to take out the cancer or to replace the liver. Resection of the liver takes out the part of the liver where the cancer is found. A liver transplant is the removal of the entire liver and replacement with a healthy liver donated from someone else. Very few patients with liver cancer are eligible for this procedure. Cryosurgery is a type of surgery that kills cancer by freezing it.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy for liver cancer is usually put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or artery. This type of chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the liver. In another type of chemotherapy called regional chemotherapy, a small pump containing drugs is placed in the body. The pump puts drugs directly into the blood vessels that go to the tumor. If a doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the operation, the patient may be given chemotherapy after surgery to kill any remaining cells.