The incidence of hepatobiliary or liver cancer continues to rise in the United States—over 27,000 deaths are anticipated this year nationwide with more than 1,500 deaths occurring in New York. Yet long-term patient survival is possible if curative therapies including liver resection and liver transplantation are performed in the early stages of the disease. Advanced technology is also producing emerging modalities such as ablation and stereotactic radiotherapy, techniques which may also be curative.

In order to improve conformity of reporting CT and MRI findings, the American College of Radiology has developed a standardized system of imaging features of liver nodules in patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. LI-RADS identifies five categories of liver nodules.

Two recently published journal articles highlighted the important work being done in the study of hepatocellular carcinoma. The first discussed the importance of screening for hepatocellular carcinoma. The second article reported on an intriguing finding of a possible beneficial on incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma for patients using statin therapy for patients for hypercholesterolemia in whom this therapy was otherwise clinically indicated.

Montefiore Medical Center has an active clinical trials program for patients with chronic liver disease. We are currently enrolling patients in a number of trials.

The Helping Hands Program at Montefiore is a resource network that helps patients navigate and better manage their health and their lives as they go through the transplantation process.Comprised of doctors, nurses, a nutritionist, social workers and administrators, the Helping Hands Program focuses on helping patients meet the challenges that arise during the transplant process by promoting healthy lifestyle changes.