Treatment

If you have been told you have HCC, you may be wondering what to expect next.

Your scans will be looked at, often by a specialized team that includes your liver specialist and other doctors with experience treating HCC. There are many things this team will consider when deciding which option to recommend for you…. things like:

• the size, number, and location of tumors
• your liver function (how well your liver’s working)
• your age and general health

Depending on your situation, some potential treatment options for HCC are:

• Surgery, where part of the liver is removed (called a liver resection) or where the liver is removed and replaced with a donor liver (called liver transplant)
• Ablation, a procedure that destroys the tumor, usually using heat
• Embolization, a procedure that blocks blood supply to the tumor and can also include injecting substances to destroy the tumor
• Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a procedure where the tumor is destroyed using radiation given from outside the body
• Targeted chemotherapy medication
• Symptom management, is always part of treatment, but can be the main focus if other treatment options are not available