Fibrolamellar Spread to Lymph Nodes - 20 years old

Hello,

I have a friend who is 20 years old and was diagnosed with fibrolamellar HCC in 2022 when she was 18 and a 10cm tumour was found on her liver. This was removed surgically with clean margins. Ever since she has been having scans every 3 months to check for recurrence. They noted nodules on her lungs and inflamed lymph nodes in her chest, lungs, and esophagus so she had a bronchoscopy and biopsy which confirmed recurrence and spread of the fibrolamellar, her liver still looks clean though. The doctor has been very vague and has not provided her with clear information about treatment options, chance of success or prognosis etc. He said that because the cancer is in so many different places, surgery is not an option and so she is due to start chemo soon. He has initially proposed a combination of fluorouracil (5FU) and peginterferon alfa 2a (Pegasys).

We are just trying to find out as much information as we possibly can but obviously, because it is such a rare cancer this is quite difficult and a lot of the information is from America. I wanted to ask if anyone has experience with this treatment regime or with fibrolamellar which has metastasized or if people know any UK-based fibrolamellar specialists.

Thank you. Becca

  • Hello Becca

    I'm sorry to hear about your friend's diagnosis. It's obviously a very worrying time for you both and natural that you will have questions and concerns. 

    I've checked through the forum and I can't see that we have any other members who have been diagnosed with this rare cancer. As this is a cancer that typically is diagnosed in younger people you may have more luck in connecting with another person through an organisation such as Shine which is a charity that supports young people diagnosed with cancer. There is also some information about fibrolamellar on the Liver Cancer UK website they offer support to everyone impacted by liver cancer and there are various support options both online and face-to-face available through the British Liver Trust. It may be that they can give you information about any specialists in the UK. 

    If you'd like to talk with one of our nurses for some advice and support you're welcome to call them on 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. I know they will be happy to listen and offer any advice and support they can. 

    I do hope that the upcoming for your friend progresses well. Keep in touch and let us know how things go. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator