The Next Generation of Liver Tumor Treatment

Advanced technology now available at Renown Health takes liver tumor treatment to the next level.

Liver tumors are notoriously difficult to treat due to their location, rapid growth and potential resistance to treatments. To address these challenges, Renown Health expanded its treatment options for primary and metastatic liver tumors with the addition of the HistoSonics Edison ® System, ground breaking technology that delivers high intensity focused ultrasound histotripsy to destroy cancer cells.

“Histotripsy brings a whole new way to treat liver tumors that is very different from surgical resection and ablations and other technology that we use,” says Nicholas Manguso, MD, surgical oncologist at the William N. Pennington Cancer Institute at Renown Health. "It opens up treatment for more patients who previously might not have been good candidates for other procedures.”

Renown Health is one of the first hospitals in the country to offer this noninvasive therapeutic ultrasound, which precisely targets and liquefies the cancerous tissue without damage to the rest of the liver or body.

“Patients do need general anesthesia for this, but there are no incisions,” says Randy Zuckerman, MD, chief of Surgical Oncology at the William N. Pennington Cancer Institute at Renown Health. "From a patient perspective, it’s essentially painless, and you avoid the complications of more invasive methodologies.”

Candidates for Histotripsy

While histotripsy is a promising noninvasive treatment option for certain liver tumors, not all patients are suitable candidates for this procedure. Several factors, including the size, type of tumor and number of tumors, as well as the patient’s overall health, will determine eligibility for histotripsy. Histotripsy is usually a better option for patients with tumors that are smaller than 4 centimeters, according to Dr. Zuckerman, who along with Dr. Manguso and surgical oncologist Christos A. Galanopoulos, MD, MBA, MSc, FACS, were among the first physicians in the world trained to perform the procedure. The location of the tumor is also critical when determining which patients qualify.

“We have to be able to see the tumor on ultrasound without critical structures being in the way of the beam,” Dr. Manguso says. "Tumors that are on the left side of the liver or more anterior are easier to find on ultrasound.”

If patients aren’t candidates for histotripsy, Renown Health offers other advanced liver tumor procedures.

“We try to focus on what is going to benefit the patient,” Dr. Manguso says. "Sometimes that is histotripsy, and other times it’s a different modality. And because Renown Health offers comprehensive cancer care, patients have access to all our many resources.”

📞 Call 833-746-4684 (RING-NTI) to schedule a patient for histotripsy assessment.