Liver Cancer

When facing a liver cancer diagnosis, you deserve the best possible care — that’s precisely what you’ll find at Henry Ford Health. Our program is home to highly regarded experts from a variety of specialties who work together to tailor liver cancer treatments. You also have access to advanced therapies and robust support for comprehensive care that offers hope for healing.

Why choose Henry Ford for liver cancer care?

Henry Ford brings together specialists who consider how your diagnosis, liver function, lifestyle factors, and treatment options all come together. Liver specialists (hepatologists), surgeons, oncologists, and other doctors work as a team to anticipate your needs so you receive timely care.

The Henry Ford difference:

• Innovative treatment options: Henry Ford offers advanced therapies not widely available. Hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump therapy delivers high doses of chemotherapy directly to the liver through a small implantable device. Histotripsy uses focused sound waves to break up tumors. These options may help when therapies like liver cancer surgery (resection), aren’t possible.
• World-class transplant care: When cancer limits liver function, a liver transplant may be the best option. We offer Michigan’s most comprehensive program with excellent outcomes, even for people with advanced disease. Our team includes specialists in transplant oncology, who combine cancer treatment with transplant planning, so you receive seamless care.
• Support: Liver cancer can impact many parts of your life and we’re here for you. Addiction specialists  specializing in liver disease help you stop drinking, if needed. Cancer psychologists help you cope with emotional challenges. Nurse navigators  coordinate appointments. And cancer social workers connect you with community resources.
• Research: Our liver cancer specialists participate in prestigious studies giving you access to promising new therapies before they’re widely available. Efforts include testing new drugs, exploring methods for detecting liver cancer earlier and developing treatments that are now considered standard of care.

Types of liver cancer we treat

Experts at Henry Ford treat all types of liver cancer, including:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (most common): These tumors start in hepatocytes, the cells that carry out most of the liver’s work. Learn more about hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
• Angiosarcoma: This rare liver cancer type starts in the blood vessels of the liver.
• Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma): This type of cancer begins in the tubes that carry bile, a fluid that helps digest food. Read more about bile duct cancer.
• Metastatic liver cancer: This cancer begins in another organ, such as the colon, breast, or lung and spreads to the liver.

Expert liver cancer care, close to home

Henry Ford puts comprehensive liver cancer treatment within reach, even if you don’t live in Southeast Michigan.

You can access select services in clinics throughout the state, including:

• Medical therapies: You may be eligible to receive medical therapies, like chemotherapy or immunotherapy, from community oncologists closer to home. Our experts work with these providers to oversee treatment and coordinate follow-up.
• Liver disease care: Monitoring and treating chronic liver disease helps keep your liver as healthy as possible. A healthier liver makes it easier to tolerate cancer therapies and may improve eligibility for advanced services, like transplant. Henry Ford hepatologists provide this care in clinics across Michigan, which keeps your care moving forward.
• Pre- and post-transplant support: If you need a liver transplant, you’ll find evaluations, medical therapies, and long-term follow-up at Henry Ford liver transplant clinics across Michigan. These visits help optimize your well-being, so you remain eligible for transplant and protect your new liver after recovering from surgery.

Specialized care for metastatic liver cancer

When cancer spreads to the liver from other body areas, treatment is rarely straightforward. Henry Ford excels in managing these cases that require specialized care.

Services for metastatic liver cancer include:

• Shared treatment planning: We work closely with other Henry Ford cancer specialists to coordinate and personalize treatments to your needs.
• Liver-directed therapies: If you are not eligible for standard treatments such as HAI pump therapy, liver-directed therapies can help shrink or control tumors.
• Combination therapy: Combining certain therapies may improve cancer control and your eligibility for surgery or transplant. We may use embolization, a procedure that cuts off a tumor’s blood supply, together with ablation, which destroys tumor tissue.