Liver Cancer Specialist
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ForeFront Radiology
Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology based out of Fresno, CA
Although no one wants to receive a liver cancer diagnosis, with prompt treatment, your chances of surviving are greater now than ever. If you have liver cancer, the board-certified interventional radiologists at ForeFront Radiology in Fresno, California, can help. They use cutting-edge techniques like image-guided liver ablation, transarterial chemoembolization, and minimally invasive radioembolization to treat liver cancer. Call ForeFront Radiology to find out more or book an appointment online today.
Liver Cancer Q & A
What is liver cancer?
Liver cancer is a condition where cells in your liver change at the genetic level, causing them to grow and multiply with no control. These cancerous cells form tumors in your liver that can cause liver disease and spread into other areas of your body.
There are two types of liver cancer:
Primary liver cancer
Primary liver cancer starts in the liver or bile ducts. In adults, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. Sometimes it causes single large tumors that only spread in the later stages, but HCC often results in small growths spread across the liver.
Angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma are rarer forms of primary liver cancer that affect cells lining blood vessels in your liver.
Secondary (metastatic) liver cancer
Metastatic cancer is one that starts somewhere else and spreads to your liver. Common causes of metastatic liver cancer are stomach, colon, lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Secondary cancers are more common than primary liver cancers in the United States.
What treatment options are there for liver cancer?
ForeFront Radiology offers advanced, minimally invasive treatments for liver cancers of all types, including:
Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)
TACE combines chemotherapy with synthetic substances called embolic agents. The ForeFront Radiology team uses a catheter (small tube) that they insert into an artery supplying the tumor to deliver the chemotherapy mixture into the cancer and trap it there.
The team might use TACE on its own or as part of a treatment program that includes other approaches such as surgery, tumor ablation, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.
Tumor ablation
With tumor ablation treatments, the ForeFront Radiology team uses image guidance technology to insert a needle into your liver. Radiofrequency or microwave energy passes through the needle into the tumor, heating and destroying cancer cells.
Tumor ablation is an effective treatment for patients who have tumors smaller than one and a half inches across and those for whom surgery is risky. Ablation eliminates more than 85% of small liver cancers.
Are there options for advanced liver cancer?
One option for more advanced liver cancer is minimally invasive radioembolization. This procedure combines embolization with radiation therapy, using tiny beads that contain a radioactive isotope (yttrium Y-90).
The ForeFront Radiology team places the beads inside arteries feeding your cancer, preventing blood from reaching the cancer cells. The treatment also delivers high doses of radiation while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Radioembolization can help prolong and improve quality of life in patients who have inoperable liver cancer.
ForeFront Radiology treats a high volume of liver tumors with these specialized techniques, working closely with oncologists, surgical specialists, and university centers to coordinate care and ensure optimal outcomes for their cancer patients.
Find out more by calling the ForeFront Radiology office today, or book an appointment online.