Methodist Healthcare System | Keeping Well | Fall 2015

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LIVER CANCER
PATIENTS
ONE-STOP
CENTER
SURGERY
LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
CHEMOTHERAPY
RADIOFREQUENCY
ABLATIONS
LIVER RESECTION
INTERFERONTREATMENTS
CHEMOEMBOLIZATION
ABLATION
PROCEDURES
and Transplant Hospital is a campus of Methodist
Hospital.
“Texas ranks second in the number of newly
diagnosed liver cancer cases and has one of the
highest mortality (death) rates in the country be-
cause cases are diagnosed at a late stage,” he adds.
“Despite improved surveillance and imaging,
there are large populations of patients with curable
disease who do not receive appropriate surgical
treatment in a timely manner,” says Lokesh Bathla,
MD, Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgeon also
at the Texas Transplant Institute, a department of
Methodist Hospital. “There is no doubt that surgery
improves survival for patients especially with early
stage liver cancer, but it is vastly underutilized due
to a variety of reasons. Most important amongst these
are a patient’s socioeconomic status—specifically ac-
cess to health care, education level and income. New
research also suggests that patients who are treated
at a comprehensive care center for these conditions
have higher cure rates and longer survival,” he adds.
The Liver Cancer Center at Methodist Specialty
and Transplant Hospital is one such comprehensive
program solely focused on the diagnosis and treat-
ment of cancers of the liver and biliary tract. Our
comprehensive approach combines compassionate
patient care with advanced treatment options pro-
vided by highly trained specialists with the goal of
managing all aspects of investigations, treatment
and follow-up under one roof.
The Liver Cancer Center provides advanced treat-
ment options such as liver resection and transplan-
tation, minimally invasive surgery; radiofrequency
ablation; chemotherapy; and radioembolization, a
combination of radiation therapy and a procedure
called embolization to treat cancer of the liver.
The end-stage liver failure clinic offers a variety of
services, including hepatitis C treatments, manage-
ment of liver failure, prevention of liver cancer and
new innovative research options for many chronic
liver diseases.
To learn more about the Liver Cancer Center at
Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, visit
.
Liver cancer is the fifth highest cause of death for men in the U.S. and is on the rise. Furthermore, South Texas has the
highest incidence of liver cancer in the United States. This is about 5 percent higher than the rest of the country. “Dia-
betes and untreated hepatitis C, along with drug abuse and unprofessionally applied tattoos, are the major culprits for
the higher incidence,” explains Fernando Mebreño, MD, Transplant Hepatologist specializing in liver cancer and
research at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital’s Texas Transplant Institute. Methodist Specialty
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