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11 treatment settings, 8 with more than one named option. Each section lays out the options the standard of care names, what each is for, the trials behind them with their recorded results, the side effects and cautions on record, and questions to ask. Built from the cancer page's standard-of-care rows; nothing here is advice for your case.
Resection, ablation, transplant.
Thermal ablation kills a tumour with heat or cold delivered through a needle, with no incision required.
Destroying tumours from outside the body with tightly focused sound waves, using either heat or microscopic bubbles.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
TACE/TARE ± systemic therapy.
A drug that finds tumour cells and carries a radioactive atom that irradiates them from inside the body.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Atezolizumab-bevacizumab, durvalumab-tremelimumab, or nivolumab-ipilimumab.
A PD-L1 blocker used in lung, liver, and bladder cancer. In 2026 it became the first drug approved based on a blood test showing leftover cancer after bladder surgery.
A PD-L1 blocker that became standard after chemoradiation for stage III lung cancer, and now in bladder, biliary, and gastric cancers.
Nivolumab was the second PD-1 blocker and is often combined with ipilimumab. Long-term data show about half of advanced melanoma patients alive at 10 years on the combination.
Ipilimumab was the first checkpoint inhibitor (2011), and proved the immune system could be unleashed against cancer.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 3% | 0.8% |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1% | 0.5% |
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 4.9% | 0.2% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (any cause, PACIFIC) · vs 12.8% placebo; 1.1% fatal | 18.3% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis with ipilimumab (1+3 mg/kg) · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis with ipilimumab · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 15% | 13.4% |
| Colitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Hepatitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis (with nivolumab 1+3) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 15% | 13.4% |
| Rash (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 28% | 4.8% |
| Adrenal insufficiency (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 8% | 2.6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Universal HBV vaccination; antiviral suppression of HBV; direct-acting antiviral cure of HCV; alcohol and metabolic risk reduction.
Vaccines that prevent the viral infections behind cervical, throat, anal, and liver cancers. The most effective anti-cancer intervention ever created.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Six-monthly ultrasound ± AFP in cirrhosis and high-risk HBV carriers; abbreviated MRI where ultrasound is inadequate.
People with cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B get a liver ultrasound and a blood test every six months so cancer is caught while it is still curable.
Ultrasound uses sound waves to make live pictures; it is cheap, safe, and used to guide needles into lumps.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Ablation (RFA/microwave) for ≤3 cm; resection for preserved liver function; transplantation within Milan or downstaged criteria; radiation segmentectomy as an alternative.
Thermal ablation kills a tumour with heat or cold delivered through a needle, with no incision required.
Replacing the whole diseased liver cures both the cancer and the cirrhosis underneath it, for patients whose tumours are small enough.
Millions of tiny radioactive glass or resin beads are injected into the liver artery, lodging in the tumour and irradiating it from within.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
TACE (conventional or DEB-TACE) or TARE; systemic therapy for high tumour burden or TACE-refractory disease; TACE + durvalumab-bevacizumab or STRIDE + lenvatinib prolong PFS (OS unproven).
A catheter threaded into the artery feeding a liver tumour delivers chemotherapy and then blocks the vessel, starving the tumour from inside.
Millions of tiny radioactive glass or resin beads are injected into the liver artery, lodging in the tumour and irradiating it from within.
PFS HR 0.77; OS HR 0.80, not significant.
PFS HR 0.66; final OS HR 0.98.
PFS HR ~0.70 (interim); OS immature.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Atezolizumab + bevacizumab (IMbrave150), STRIDE tremelimumab + durvalumab (HIMALAYA), or nivolumab + ipilimumab (CheckMate 9DW); lenvatinib or sorafenib if immunotherapy is contraindicated (transplant, active autoimmune disease).
A PD-L1 blocker used in lung, liver, and bladder cancer. In 2026 it became the first drug approved based on a blood test showing leftover cancer after bladder surgery.
A PD-L1 blocker that became standard after chemoradiation for stage III lung cancer, and now in bladder, biliary, and gastric cancers.
Tremelimumab is AstraZeneca's CTLA-4 antibody, given as a single priming dose with durvalumab and chemotherapy in lung and liver cancer.
Nivolumab was the second PD-1 blocker and is often combined with ipilimumab. Long-term data show about half of advanced melanoma patients alive at 10 years on the combination.
Ipilimumab was the first checkpoint inhibitor (2011), and proved the immune system could be unleashed against cancer.
An oral anti-angiogenic pill that matched sorafenib in liver cancer with higher response rates, and partners with pembrolizumab in kidney and endometrial cancer.
The first drug ever to extend life in advanced liver cancer (2007), now mostly a comparator arm that newer combinations are measured against.
OS 19.2 vs 13.4 months, HR 0.66.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. A median is the middle of a group: half the people counted lived longer than the figure shown, and some lived far longer. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
OS 23.7 vs 20.6 months, HR 0.79; ORR 36% vs 13%.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 3% | 0.8% |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 1% | 0.5% |
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Monotherapy pooled | 4.9% | 0.2% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pneumonitis (any cause, PACIFIC) · vs 12.8% placebo; 1.1% fatal | 18.3% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis with ipilimumab (1+3 mg/kg) · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis with ipilimumab · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 15% | 13.4% |
| Colitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Hepatitis · Monotherapy pooled unless stated | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colitis (with nivolumab 1+3) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 25% | 14.4% |
| Hepatitis (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 15% | 13.4% |
| Rash (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 28% | 4.8% |
| Adrenal insufficiency (with nivolumab) · Nivolumab 1 mg/kg + ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, melanoma | 8% | 2.6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
After immunotherapy: lenvatinib, sorafenib, cabozantinib or regorafenib by extrapolation (no dedicated phase 3); ramucirumab if AFP ≥400 ng/mL; clinical trials.
A pill that blocks both blood-vessel growth and the MET escape pathway, used in kidney, liver, thyroid and, since 2025, neuroendocrine cancers.
A sorafenib successor that became the first second-line drug proven to prolong life in liver cancer (2017).
An antibody that blocks the VEGF receptor, approved in liver cancer only for patients with a high AFP blood level, the first biomarker-selected HCC drug.
An oral anti-angiogenic pill that matched sorafenib in liver cancer with higher response rates, and partners with pembrolizumab in kidney and endometrial cancer.
OS 10.6 vs 7.8 months, HR 0.63.
OS 10.2 vs 8.0 months, HR 0.76.
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No approved adjuvant therapy; IMbrave050 benefit not sustained. Surveillance imaging every 3-6 months.
This setting names no product or technology record yet; the approach above is the standard as written. Ask your team which specific treatments they mean.
Interim RFS HR 0.72; benefit not sustained at update.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Systemic immunotherapy; Y-90 radioembolisation where TACE is contraindicated; radiotherapy to the thrombus in selected patients.
Millions of tiny radioactive glass or resin beads are injected into the liver artery, lodging in the tumour and irradiating it from within.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy converges multiple beams with sub-millimetre accuracy to deliver tumour-destroying doses in one to five outpatient sessions, doing the job of surgery for inoperable early lung cancer and for metastases in liver, spine and brain. Tumour size and location limit its use, and late toxicity is a concern near the central airways.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.