Liver Cancer Treatment Options

New and Expanding Treatments for Liver Cancer 

At Houston Methodist, our hepatologists, surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and other specialists are pushing the envelope to evolve liver cancer treatments to be more effective and targeted. We offer the highest standard of patient-centered, specialized care for primary and secondary liver cancers, with a goal of curing cancer and extending lives.

Advanced Services

  • The latest technological advancements in diagnostic radiology 
  • Extensive treatments for benign and malignant tumors in the gallbladder and bile duct, such as cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular adenoma and hemangioma
  • Chemotherapy, radiation, embolization and ablation:
    • Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) – an image-guided, nonsurgical procedure directly delivering chemotherapy to liver tumors through a catheter. It spares patients from the side effects of traditional chemotherapy delivered throughout the body
    • Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) – uses radiofrequency waves to heat and destroy cancer cells. It can be performed multiple times as needed
    • Yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres – a radioactive medication embedded into millions of microscopic glass beads, or microspheres, that are directly delivered to liver tumors

Liver Center Menu

  • Surgical treatments: 
    • Liver resection (partial hepatectomy) – removes part of the liver. It typically is reserved for healthy patients who have good liver function and no cirrhosis
    • Whipple (pancreaticoduodenectomy) – a complex surgery that removes a portion of the pancreas and small intestine, the gallbladder, and the bile duct in patients with certain cancers
    • Liver transplant – used to treat some liver cancers, a patient’s liver is removed and replaced with a liver from a deceased donor, or part of a liver from a living donor
  • Multiple clinical studies in hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma and other cancers
How Can We Help?

Cholangiocarcinoma

Though rare, bile duct cancer is the second most common tumor in the liver, says Kirk Heyne, MD. Because symptoms often don’t appear until late stage, this cancer is difficult to detect early. Heyne explains how Houston Methodist specialists treat cholangiocarcinoma patients successfully with experimental therapies and surgery (liver transplants) when necessary.

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