What are your treatment options as a liver cancer patient?
Appointment and Referrals
- Existing patients: request your next appointment through MyChart
- New patients: call 443-997-1508.
Accessible Care
Call 410-944-8964 to speak with an Intake Coordinator to find out more information, refer a patient or make an appointment.
Types of Treatment
Once liver cancer develops, there are three main treatment options, listed below. Your oncologist will help you determine the treatment appropriate for you.
Surgery ▼
Surgery that involves the removal of the tumor or even liver transplant in which the entire liver is surgically removed and replaced with a new liver from a donor, offers the best hope of a cure. The size and location of the tumor, the health of the remaining liver, if the tumor has spread and the overall health of the patient determines if this is an option.
Tumor Ablation ▼
Tumor ablation, in which the cancer cells in the tumor are directly killed by radiofrequency, freezing or chemical injection, are relatively new treatment options. Tumor ablation techniques involve placing a fine probe into the center of the tumor and injecting cold or toxic chemical that destroy the tumor cells.
Radiation & Chemotherapy ▼
Radiation and chemotherapy have been used to treat liver cancer. Radiation can shrink a tumor but is not a curative procedure. Similarly, chemotherapy has been shown to shrink liver cancers, but it is unclear if this increases patient survival.
At Hopkins
Johns Hopkins has a team approach to combating liver cancer. We have surgical and non-surgical doctors who can evaluate an individual patient. While each patient's evaluation needs to be individualized, these evaluations often require blood tests, special imaging techniques and review of biopsy material. After evaluation, a treatment plan may include closely following a patient, surgery or non-surgical treatment. What is special about Johns Hopkins is having doctors who can evaluate and treat liver cancer.