Liver Cancer Treatments

Liver cancer is rarely straightforward, which is why it’s best managed by a program that brings every part of treatment together. At Henry Ford Health, specialists combine expertise in cancer therapies and liver health to create plans that help you achieve the best possible outcomes.

Why choose Henry Ford for liver cancer treatment?

Few programs offer the full range of liver cancer treatments under one roof. At Henry Ford, it’s all here for you. We can help, even if you face a complex diagnosis or cancer has come back after previous therapies.

The Henry Ford difference:

• Expert, seamless care: Surgeons, liver specialists (hepatologists) and oncologists with deep experience in liver cancer coordinate your care. In meetings called tumor boards, we review cases and make treatment decisions as a team. This approach keeps therapies connected from start to finish.
• Liver-directed therapies: If you are not eligible for liver surgery or transplant, these sophisticated procedures target tumors directly in the liver to slow cancer growth. We offer one of Michigan’s widest selections, including embolization, ablation, HAI pump therapy and histotripsy.
• Treatment for underlying liver disease: Many people with liver cancer also have conditions like cirrhosis, fatty liver disease or hepatitis. Hepatologists provide treatments and monitoring that help protect the healthy parts of your liver. When your liver health is optimized, you can safely handle more types of cancer treatment.
• Support: We’re here to help guide you through treatment, in both big and small ways. Nurse navigators schedule the tests and treatments you need. Cancer psychologists support your emotional well-being. Social workers dedicated to our cancer program connect you with community resources.

Why do people with liver cancer often need multiple treatments?

Liver cancer often presents more than one challenge, requiring multiple treatments:

• Tumor complexity: Liver tumors may appear in several areas of the liver at once. They can also grow close to vital blood vessels and nearby structures, like bile ducts.
• Cancer that spreads to the liver: Cancer in other areas of the body, like the colon, breasts or lungs, often spreads (metastasizes) to the liver. Managing liver metastases usually requires multiple treatments to address both the original cancer and liver tumors.
• High risk of recurrence: Even after surgery, new tumors can form because the underlying liver disease remains. Microscopic cancer cells may also escape detection.

Liver-directed therapies

The complex nature of liver cancer makes many people ineligible for standard treatments, like surgery. But our team can still help you achieve good outcomes with a liver-directed procedure. These therapies use nonsurgical techniques to deliver treatment directly to the tumor.

Types of liver-directed procedures we offer include:

• Ablation therapy: This minimally invasive procedure destroys liver tumors by applying extreme heat, cold gas, or sound waves. Learn more about ablation therapy.
• Hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump: We implant a small device under the skin that delivers chemotherapy through the artery supplying the liver. Explore HAI therapy.
• Histotripsy: This treatment uses focused ultrasound to break apart a tumor without heat or radiation. Get more information about histotripsy.
• Embolization therapies: These procedures block the blood vessels feeding a liver tumor and may also involve delivering chemotherapy or radiation. Explore embolization therapies.

Liver resection (hepatectomy)

Surgeons remove the part of the liver containing the tumor while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive methods such as laparoscopic or robotic surgery. These methods use small incisions and sophisticated instruments or technology to remove tumors with less disruption to healthy tissue. Get more information about liver resection.

Your surgical plan may combine liver resection with other treatments, such as embolization or ablation, to shrink tumors before surgery. They may also destroy trace levels of cancer that remain after surgery. Combining approaches leads to complete care that lowers the chance of recurrence.

Radiation therapy

Radiation oncologists use high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells that cannot be removed surgically. Advanced imaging and delivery techniques allow us to target tumors precisely while limiting exposure to healthy liver tissue. Find out more about radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy and medical therapies

Oncologists may recommend systemic treatments such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. These therapies use drugs and other substances that circulate through the bloodstream to treat cancer. Explore chemotherapy and medical oncology.

Liver transplant

A transplant may be an option if cancer develops in a liver already damaged by cirrhosis or if resection is not possible. Henry Ford’s transplant team is one of the most experienced in Michigan, offering both deceased donor and living donor options. Learn more about liver transplant services.

Henry Ford is among the first programs to coordinate liver cancer treatment and transplant planning. These efforts help more people become cancer-free. Find out more about transplant oncology.

Before transplant, you may receive other treatments, such as embolization or ablation, to shrink tumors. Combining approaches lowers the chance of recurrence.