Are you a candidate for histotripsy?

Find out if you’re eligible to receive this groundbreaking procedure for liver tumors.

Call 714-446-5830 to connect with us.

Liver Cancer Care at St. Jude Medical Center

2151 N. Harbor Blvd., Suite 3100, Fullerton, CA 92835

1962.4 miles away

714-446-5830

714-992-3037

Mon - Fri : 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Liver Cancer Care at St. Jude Medical Center

2151 N. Harbor Blvd., Suite 3100, Fullerton, CA 92835

1962.4 miles away

714-446-5830

Mon - Fri : 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Our Approach

Liver cancer, or hepatocellular cancer, is a type of gastrointestinal cancer that can form anywhere in the liver. When liver cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it’s called secondary liver cancer.

Our expert oncology teams use the most effective therapies to treat patients with every type of liver cancer and its related conditions, including gallbladder cancer and bile duct cancer.

Providence St. Jude Medical Center is a destination for patients seeking the most advanced therapies and treatments for liver cancer. We are among the first in California to offer histotripsy – a revolutionary, noninvasive treatment for malignant and benign liver tumors – providing patients with a specialized, innovative approach to managing liver tumors. The histotripsy procedure has shown a 95.5% success rate in clinical trials.

Our commitment to excellence ensures that you receive the highest quality treatment and outcomes. And our leadership in innovation helps us provide better care – and a better life – for you and your loved ones.

Histotripsy: A Breakthrough Liver Cancer Therapy

Histotripsy is a revolutionary treatment for both cancerous and non-cancerous liver tumors, as well as metastatic cancer that has spread to the liver. This FDA-approved procedure uses high-energy ultrasound waves that convert to sonic beams and destroy liver tumors – without a single incision or needle.

Histotripsy is a robotic-assisted procedure performed by our specially trained physicians using sophisticated imaging technology.

Using diagnostic ultrasound, your doctor monitors the treatment area in real-time.
The procedure begins with a soft, flexible membrane positioned over the liver, filled with degassed water. This water helps transmit sound waves from the device to the target treatment area.
The focused ultrasound waves generate a bubble cloud inside the tumor, disrupting and destroying only cancerous tissue.
After the cancerous tissue is liquefied, only tiny molecules remain in the body. These microscopic fragments are too small to allow the cancer to spread and regrow.

Effective: Histotripsy has shown a 95.5% success rate in clinical trials, and multiple tumors can be treated in a single therapy session.
Precise: It can be used to target and destroy only unwanted tissue, such as tumors, without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Noninvasive: The procedure allows you to avoid incisions, needles, or other insertions through the skin. Instead, you receive painless general anesthesia to minimize movement during treatment and typically go home the same day.
Fewer side effects: Because histotripsy doesn’t require incisions, it reduces the risk of infection, bleeding, long recovery times and other complications. Typically, it has little to no side effects; most patients return home the same day and quickly resume normal activities with minimal discomfort.

Histotripsy can be used to effectively treat liver tumors in patients who aren’t candidates for open surgery or have been told their liver tumor is inoperable. It can be used in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, and it can also be used to treat metastatic cancer that has spread to the liver.

However, first there are several factors that must be assessed and discussed with your doctor – like the size and number of tumors – to determine if you’re a candidate.

Before the procedure:

You might be required to follow some dietary restrictions before the planned histotripsy.

During the procedure:

Your doctor may perform an ultrasound for additional confirmation of your tumor location.
General anesthesia will be administered.
Procedure time varies depending on specific factors and the number of histotripsy treatments being delivered.

After the procedure:

You could experience some pain or discomfort depending on the treatment area.
Many patients return home on the same day as the procedure, or the day after, and resume their normal activities quickly.

Histotripsy: Liver Cancer Treatment at St. Jude Medical Center
Bradley Jackson, MD discusses this revolutionary new procedure and how it effectively targets cancerous liver tumors.
The Edison® System
During the histotripsy procedure, doctors use the Edison® System to plan the treatment volume, target the treatment area with focused ultrasound energy, and monitor the treatment area in real-time.

Testing and Treatment for Liver Cancer

Our board-certified physicians are at the forefront of utilizing advanced and minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques. We take a team approach to your liver cancer treatment because this offers the best success in controlling and curing cancer.

Your cancer care team works with you to design a personalized cancer care plan, from diagnosis to post-treatment support.

Your doctors use many diagnostic and prognostic tools to learn which therapies work best to treat your cancer. Taking into account specific case factors, like cancer type and a tumor’s genetic or molecular profile, these tools could include one or more of the following:

Biopsy
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy
Genetics and genomics
MRI PET/CT scan
Ultrasound

Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body, or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow.

Systemic therapies include:

Anti-VEGF therapy
Commercial clinical trials
Histotripsy
Immunotherapy

Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan.

Surgical therapies include:

Laparoscopic liver resection: partial, hemi and extended
Liver ablation
Liver transplant
Open liver resection: partial, hemi and extended

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation can also be used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort.

Radiation therapies include:

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT)
Radiopharmaceuticals (Y-90)
Stereotactic radiation (SABR/SBRT)
Surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT)
Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)

Additional therapies may also be part of the treatment plan for a small number of patients. These could include:

Liver-directed therapy, like TACE, SBRT, Y90 and ablation

Recognition

American College of Surgeons (ACS) - Commission on Cancer Accredited Program

How Histotripsy Helps Our Patients

“The ability to perform histotripsy at Providence St. Jude Medical Center is a testament to our dedication to innovative care. This groundbreaking procedure allows us to provide hope and improved outcomes for our liver cancer patients with significantly reduced pain and recovery time.”

Timmy M. Joseph, MD

Interventional Radiology, Providence St. Jude Radiology Medical Group

“The introduction of histotripsy at St. Jude Medical Center is a true milestone in the treatment of liver cancer. This cutting-edge technology not only allows us to target tumors with extreme precision, but it’s completely non-invasive which means less pain and faster recovery for our patients. Knowing that we can give our patients a fighting chance and a better quality of life is incredibly rewarding.”

Bradley A. Jackson, MD

Interventional Radiology, Providence St. Jude Radiology Medical Group