Norton Cancer Institute provides comprehensive care for patients with liver cancer affecting the liver and pancreas, including primary and metastatic cancers as well as suspicious liver masses.

Specialties include:

• Metastatic colorectal cancer
• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer
• Cholangiocarcinoma (cancer in the tubes that carry digestive fluid through the liver)
• Gallbladder carcinoma
• Other metastatic diseases to the liver: neuroendocrine (carcinoid), breast, lung, esophageal

By combining the expertise of multiple specialists in one setting, a single referral offers you and your loved ones a full range of advanced liver cancer therapies. Extensive cancer support services are readily available from diagnosis through treatment and beyond, providing comfort wherever you are in the journey. Include access to leading national cancer clinical trials in Louisville, and you’ll find everything you need to take on your condition with confidence.

Learn more about liver cancer below, including signs, symptoms and risk factors to know. To make an appointment, or for more information, call (502) 629-4440.

Liver Cancer Risk Factors

The common component to the majority of liver cancer risk factors is chronic irritation, which causes liver cells to divide more quickly.

Specific risk factors for developing liver cancer include:

• Chronic hepatitis
• Cirrhosis
• Alcoholism
• Irritants to the liver such as:
  • Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
  • Thorotrast
  • Radiation exposure
  • Liver flukes (linked with bile duct cancer in China)

Preventing Liver Cancer

To help prevent liver cancer, experts advise limiting alcohol consumption, as well as exposure to the hepatitis virus. Vaccines for hepatitis B are available and usually recommended for children and individuals considered at high risk for contracting the disease. A healthy diet and regular exercise can also help lower your risk for developing liver cancer.

Liver Cancer Signs and Symptoms

Most liver cancers do not cause symptoms until late stages, but sometimes they do occur earlier. Signs and symptoms include:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Lack of appetite
• Feeling very full after a small meal
• Ongoing stomach pain
• Swelling in the stomach area
• Yellow-green coloration of the skin and eyes, known as jaundice
• Chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis that worsens
• Liver enlargement or a mass that can be felt in the liver area

Why Choose Norton Cancer Institute

More patients in Louisville and Southern Indiana choose Norton Cancer Institute than any other provider in the area. We provide compassionate care for the whole person, not just the cancer.

Our Norton Cancer Institute oncologists are also researchers and principal investigators, offering patients sophisticated experience in the latest treatments and access to more than 200 clinical trials.

• Access to more than 100 specialists, including board-certified and fellowship-trained oncologists
• Multidisciplinary setting, meaning you get the benefit of opinions from multiple specialists across Norton Healthcare and often can schedule appointments for the same day in the same location
• Immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapy, genetic therapies tailored to combat the unique genetic makeup of your cancer and the latest in surgical treatments, chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• State-of-the-art Norton Cancer Institute Genomics Lab offering highly specialized testing that makes it possible to tailor advanced treatments based on a tumor’s specific genetic composition
• Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy for minimally invasive lung biopsies that can reach more parts of the lung without major surgery
• Medicare, Medicaid and most major commercial insurance accepted
• At Norton Specialty Pharmacy, patients receive regular consultations on their medications and treatment plan, making sure they get their prescriptions quickly and accurately. Our specialty pharmacists collaborate closely with your oncology team.
• Use your free Norton MyChart account to communicate with your provider, manage appointments, refill prescriptions, get on the wait list for an earlier appointment and more anytime from a mobile device or computer