Liver Tumor Program

Our program provides individualized care and innovative, evidence-based treatment for people who have liver, gallbladder, and bile duct tumors. We treat noncancerous liver tumors; liver cancer and liver metastases, which is cancer that has spread to the liver from other organs such as the colon; bile duct cancer, also known as cholangiocarcinoma; and gallbladder cancer. Our goal is to provide compassionate care that offers you the best possible quality of life.

Our experienced team of doctors and nurses at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center includes medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, hepatologists who specialize in liver diseases, and nurse practitioners. Often, you can visit several specialists in the same building on the same day. Your care team meets regularly at a multidisciplinary liver tumor board to discuss your imaging test results. They work together to prepare a treatment plan personalized to your needs.

Expertise in Liver Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment

The specialists at our Liver Tumor Program have expertise in a wide range of advanced diagnostic and treatment techniques for liver cancer, liver metastases, and bile duct cancer, including the following:

• MRI, which can help identify liver tumors more effectively than other imaging methods
• open and minimally invasive, or laparoscopic, liver removal
• percutaneous or surgical radiofrequency or microwave ablation to deliver heat to destroy liver tumors
• vascular resection, which is blood vessel removal, and reconstruction during liver surgery
• portal vein embolization, which is used to help grow parts of the liver before surgery when the organ’s function after surgery is a concern
• transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), a minimally invasive procedure that delivers medication directly to liver tumors and blocks the blood flow that feeds them
• transarterial radioembolization (TARE), in which tiny radioactive beads are delivered directly to liver tumors to shrink them
• focal liver radiation therapy, which delivers high-dose radiation to shrink tumors while preserving liver function
• chemotherapy to reduce the size of liver tumors before surgery
• targeted medications and immunotherapies

Our experts provide test results and treatment plans to your primary and referring doctors in a timely manner.

Our nurse practitioners and clinical coordinators can help facilitate referrals and coordinate your imaging tests and treatment plans. Social workers, nutritionists, and genetic counselors also offer you additional support. We educate patients and their families to address any concerns.

Through ongoing clinical trials, we study promising new medications, surgical techniques, and other therapies. For patients who need a liver transplant, we provide the latest technological advances at NYU Langone Transplant Institute, one of the area’s premier centers for liver transplant.