Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit

About our Team

Cancers We Treat

Liver Cancer

Causes, Prevention & Symptoms

Diagnosis & Staging

Treatment Options

Research & Clinical Trials

Support Services

Your First Appointment

Your care is provided by multiple specialists at UCSD.  You may receive neoadjuvant therapy, which is chemotherapy (drugs), radiation therapy -- or a combination of the two -- delivered prior to surgery, with a goal of shrinking the tumor and making surgery less radical.  UCSD has every specialist to handle all treatment options available to liver cancer patients.

• Interventional radiologist Dr. Steven Rose may perform radiofrequency ablation, which destroys tumors by heating them to high temperatures.  
• Surgeon Dr. Andrew Lowy may extract a portion of your liver with a minimally invasive procedure that allows a faster recovery. Our liver surgery team is also experienced in the use of minimally invasive ablation of liver tumors. 
• Or, if your entire liver needs to be removed, there is no one with more experience in taking livers out and putting new ones in than transplant surgeons Drs. Marquis Hart and Ajai Khanna.   

Each patient is different. Your treatment depends on the size and stage of your specific cancer.  Your medical team will help you decide which option is best for your unique circumstances. Treatment options may include:

Surgery

• Cryosurgery uses an instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue
• Partial hepatectomy is removal of a small portion of tissue, an entire lobe or a larger section where cancer is found
• Total hepatectomy involves removal of the entire liver, followed by a liver transplant
• Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive procedure where a needle electrode is placed in the tumor and a heated radiofrequency current is passed into the tumor.  This can be done laparoscopically or with an open operation, depending upon the size and location of the tumor

Chemotherapy

• Systemic chemotherapy is the administration of chemotherapeutic agents intravenously or orally to treat the cancer
• Regional chemotherapy involves a small pump placed in the body so that anticancer drugs can be put directly into the blood vessels feeding the tumor
• Transarterial chemoembolization is a method of administering anticancer drugs and a substance that blocks blood flow to the tumor
• Percutaneous ethanol injection is a treatment where pure alcohol is injected through the skin, into liver cancers.  Alcohol induces destruction by drawing water out of the tumor

Radiation Therapy

• External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer
• Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer
• Radiosensitizers may be given with radiation therapy to make the cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy
• Radiolabeled antibodies are another method of delivering radiation to the tumor. 

Clinical Trials

We offer innovative clinical trial options for the treatment of liver cancer.

We’re With You Throughout the Journey

Whether your disease is treatable or in its end stages, we’ll be there for you with options for proven care that alleviates your discomfort while giving you the best quality life. The Howell Program, for example, offers palliative care, which specializes in symptom management, pain control, and psychological, spiritual and social problems. The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families, not only at the end of life but also while you are still receiving treatment.  The liver support group at UCSD can be a great resource for patients and families who would like to get information and interact with other patients in similar situations.