Treating metastatic breast cancer in the liver

Treatments are often very effective in stopping the growth of the metastases and reducing the size of cancer deposits in the liver.

There are 2 main ways to treat liver metastases.

• The more common way is with whole body or 'systemic' treatments and therapies.
• Less common is local treatment on a single part of the body, such as surgery to the liver or radiotherapy.

Overall, the aims of treatment for metastatic breast cancer in the liver are to:

• control the cancer for as long as possible
• control any symptoms to give you the best possible quality of life. 

What influences treatment decisions

Your treating team will consider multiple factors to recommend the best treatments:

• your symptoms
• whether there is any blockage to your bile ducts
• if your liver function is affected
• whether there is cancer in other parts of the body
• the subtype of the cancer – such as ER+, PR+, HER2+positive, triple negative
• the treatments you’ve had in the past
• your general health
• your personal preferences.

Systemic treatments

Metastatic breast cancer in the liver is most commonly treated by systemic treatments such as chemotherapy, hormone-blocking therapy, targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy.

Read about treatments for your subtype of breast cancer:

• hormone receptor positive breast cancer
• HER2-positive breast cancer
• triple negative breast cancer.

Local treatments

Sometimes, your oncologist may suggest local treatment to remove or destroy the metastases in your liver. This depends on your individual case and a number of factors like:

• your overall health
• where else the cancer is in your body. 

The liver is a large organ and can continue to function well if part of it is removed or destroyed. You will be referred to a liver surgeon to discuss your options.

Options for local treatment

• surgery (sometimes keyhole or ‘laparoscopic’) to remove the metastases
• extreme cold (‘cryo ablation’) or extreme heat (‘radiofrequency ablation’) under ultrasound or CT scan guidance
• a procedure to prevent the cancer cells from getting oxygen while poisoning them with chemotherapy. This is ‘trans-arterial chemoembolization’ or TACE
• radiotherapy directly to the cancers via their blood supply. This is ‘selective internal radiotherapy treatment’ or SIRT
• high-dose beams of radiation into the cancerous areas. This is ‘stereotactic body radiation therapy’ or SBRT

When you consider these options, ask about the costs. Not all of these treatments are covered by Medicare or your health fund.