More Patients Are Living Beyond Liver Cancer Thanks to Expanding Care

Dr. Anjana Pillai explained that advances in both systemic and local regional therapies are helping more people live longer with liver cancer and move forward after treatment.

She said early detection can open the door to multiple effective treatment paths. Even for those diagnosed at a later stage, research and clinical trials continue to expand options in hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, leading to better outcomes and improved quality of life.

Pillai emphasized that survivorship is a growing focus in liver cancer care, and support from advocacy groups can help patients and caregivers navigate the physical and emotional effects of life after diagnosis.

She is a professor of medicine and surgery and leader of multiple liver programs at UChicago Medicine.

How can patients and caregivers cope with the emotional side of a liver cancer diagnosis?

I think that is so important. And it is very important throughout this journey to have hope and to have realistic expectations. And it's so hard for caregivers, too, because many times they are neglecting their own health. One of the things in our clinic, especially with transplant, is I always talk to the caregiver: Are you OK? Are you supported? Who’s supporting you? Because most times they’re so worried about the patient or the person with the diagnosis, and they're not getting sleep, they’re not taking care of themselves.

I’m a big fan of advocacy groups. We have so many fantastic advocacy groups where patients can get resources, talk to other patients, and get the support that they need, because it is not easy to do this alone. And it is hard to talk about this journey. It’s hard to really digest this journey and mortality — all these things that come at you so quickly, especially if you were not under a surveillance program or if it was just found incidentally. I truly believe that advocacy groups give so much great support and peer support and caregiver support. That’s something I would really highly recommend.

What is the importance of recognizing Liver Cancer Awareness Month?

Yes, I love that we have a Liver Cancer Awareness Month. It should be every month. But it’s because of many of the things that I said. The liver is such an important organ. It does so many things that are necessary to sustain life. Most people don't think about it because it has such great reserve that you really don't know until your liver is very sick.

But there are so many things we can do to take care of our liver. There are so many myths like, “Only people who drink alcohol get liver disease.” That’s not true at all. There are so many things we can do to just be aware of liver health. And that's why I think having these campaigns and awareness months is important. And to be honest, there is a significant rise in liver disease in general. So that’s important for people to know, absolutely.

What gives you hope for patients living with or beyond liver cancer today?

You know what I tell everyone: Let’s just acknowledge this sucks, right? You can't sugarcoat what it is. But if we’re lucky enough to find it early, then I say, “OK, here are all our options — and these are so many more options than we ever had.” If we’re not lucky and we found it more advanced, again, like I said, there are so many more treatments than ever before.

Especially in both cancers — HCC and cholangiocarcinoma — the number of trials and treatments for these cancers has really exploded. So as horrible as it is to have cancer and to deal with all the emotional and mental distress of it and the physical distress of liver disease, it is a time where research is really peaking and continues to grow, and where clinical trials are continuing. More and more drugs are being explored, and even different types — not just systemic therapy, but local regional therapies and other types of options.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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