Transplants can often cure some forms of liver cancer if the disease is caught early, a study concludes.
The study involved patients with liver cancer that developed from cirrhosis. Chronic infection with the hepatitis B or C viruses can cause cirrhosis of the liver, which in turn can cause cancer.Although doctors have tried to cure both diseases at once with liver transplants, the results have often been disappointing. Survival after five years has ranged from 30 percent to 40 percent.
Now, doctors from Milan, Italy, show that survival is much higher if the transplants are done only on those with early-stage disease.
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They found that 75 percent of these patients are still alive four years after liver transplants.