What type of treatment is available for liver cancer?
The standard method for treating cancer of the liver is either surgery or chemotherapy. Recently, advances in minimally invasive techniques have been developed which can assist in treating these lesions. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is a procedure that destroys tumor cells by heating them using a needle electrode and high frequency electrical currents. Ultrasound or CT Imaging may be used to help the radiologist guide the needle into the tumor. While there are other methods of heating tumors, RFA, to date, is the most common of all thermal treatment methods. Over the last few years, developments in tumor ablation have allowed large volume tissue ablation to be performed safely on patients with either primary or metastatic liver disease. While other minimally invasive methods of tumor ablation have been used, at this point in time, RFA has been the most commonly used method. When should I consider RFA? At Massachusetts General Hospital, we believe that you should have all possible trea
