It could be the upgrade of his life. Steve Jobs is actively considering a liver transplant say people involved with the Apple chief executive’s treatment, quoted anonymously by Bloomberg.

The transplant is said to be one option to address complications following Mr Jobs’ treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004. In some cases, a pancreatic cancer tumour can spread to the liver.

The agency reached Mr Jobs for comment, who would only say “Why don’t you guys leave me alone - why is this important?”

On January 15, Mr Jobs announced he was taking medical leave until June, due to an unspecified health problem that was “more complicated than initially thought”.

On January 6, Apple released a statement saying Mr Jobs’ widely-noted weight loss was not due to a recurrence of pancreatic cancer but an “easily treatable hormone imbalance”.

When Steve Jobs’ frail appearance was first noted at the September Let’s Rock event last year, Apple put his condition down to “a simple bug”.

Apple’s rapidly evolving statements have led some investors to accuse the company of failing to follow disclosure guidelines, though none has yet gone as far as filing a suit.

Son, you’re no Steve Jobs
Meanwhile, one analyst has sliced his 12-month price target for Apple by 40% to $US70, saying there is no one on the company’s management team who could step up to replace Mr Jobs. RBC’s Mike Abramsky wrote in a report: "Jobs is widely viewed as Apple's chief innovator, dealmaker, leader, deeply involved in minute decisions, inextricably tied to Apple's brand."

Apple’s shares closed the week down 3.5% to $US82.33.

When Mr Jobs’ first reassured the market on January 6, the stock spiked to $94.58.

Most analysts still have a price target of around $US200 on Apple’s stock, which has a 52-week range of $US79.14 to $US192.24.