Advanced, Team-Based Treatment for Liver Tumors, Cancerous or Not.

While most liver lesions aren’t cancer, benign cysts and hemangiomas can be challenging to diagnose and treat. That’s why it’s important to get screened if you are at risk for liver cancer—the earlier a lesion is found, the sooner we can develop a treatment plan to help, and the better the chances of a successful outcome. 

At MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, our liver specialists take a collaborative approach to diagnosis and offer patients a wide variety of effective treatments for liver lesions.

Imaging exams for other conditions are revealing more liver masses. About 15% of patients who have an ultrasound of their abdomen and 30% of those who get a CT scan are diagnosed with at least one liver lesion. 

Hemangioma, the most common type of non-cancer liver tumor, is found in as many as 5% of adults in the U.S. By contrast, current estimates suggest about 1% of people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with a cancerous liver tumor. 

While some benign liver lesions can grow large and painful if left untreated, others never require intervention. There are a wide variety of treatment options available for benign and malignant liver masses. Early detection and a team-based care approach contribute to a successful outcome.

A team of experts to diagnose liver masses.

Whether they’re cancerous or benign, most liver lesions don’t cause any symptoms. Some, called primary liver cancer, start in the liver. More often, cancer spreads from another part of the body. Secondary liver cancer can come from the colon, breast, or lung. 

Benign and cancerous liver tumors can appear very similar, so it’s important to see a specialist to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. At MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, we bring together liver specialists to develop a treatment plan that’s personalized for each patient. These experts have advanced training in:
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• Surgery
• Medical oncology
• Radiation oncology
• Interventional radiology
• Interventional gastroenterology
• Transplant hepatology

Each specialist’s perspective is important to tailoring a treatment approach that leads to the best outcome for each patient’s specific lesion. 

Related reading: The Importance of a Healthy Liver.

Personalized treatment is better treatment.

Surgery and transplant are common treatments for complex liver lesions, but they’re not the only option. Often, personalized treatment plans involve a number of options, which can include:

• Ablation: Procedure to destroy small tumors without removing them. Ablation can be helpful for patients awaiting transplant.
• Immunotherapy and advanced biologics: Treatments that use the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
• Chemoembolization: Procedure to deliver anti-cancer medication directly into the blood vessels that feed a liver tumor.
• Radiation: Therapy to eliminate or shrink tumors in patients who are not candidates for other treatments, whose cancer didn’t respond well to those treatments, or whose cancer is painful or has spread.