Liver Tumors

Liver metastases are cancerous tumors that have spread from the original (primary) tumor to the liver. Breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer, kidney cancer, malignant melanoma, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancers, and testicular cancer can all metastasize in the liver.  If these cancers continue to grow, liver function is compromised, which can lead to serious problems.

Liver metastases are most commonly treated with chemotherapy, and for a certain amount of time, this method is effective. Unfortunately, resistance invariably develops resulting in ultimate progression of the size of the tumors. Occasionally, if a patient has a single liver metastasis and no disease elsewhere, the tumor can be taken out surgically.

Stereotactic body radiosurgery  can effectively treat liver metastasis.  The procedure requires a gold marker (fiducial seed) to be placed into each liver metastasis one to seven days prior to the treatment.  The marker is placed using a very thin catheter. Not every patient requires the marker. The patient will undergo a CT scan, after which the radiation oncologist, the physician and the dosimetrist develop a treatment plan. Treatment requires three consecutive days, and the patient may return home between treatments.

An ideal candidate for liver tumor radiosurgery is a patient with 1-3 (five if all small) tumors in the liver with no other cancer or very few other cancerous sites elsewhere in the body.

Benefits of Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery to Treat Lung Metastasis

• offers an alternative to chemotherapy or surgery
• short, 40-minute treatments delivered over three days
• eradicates treated tumors in the liver 90 percent of the time
• healthy tissue is spared
• non-invasive, painless
• no hospitalization required
• no recovery time
• minimal side effects