Help me please. My husband was just recently diagnosed with cancer that has spread to his liver.
My husband was just recently diagnosed with cancer that has spread to his liver. He’s only 62 and feels like life has betrayed him. He is going to get a liver biopsy to determine what type of cancer he has? I’ve never heard of this before…. Also, they are still looking for the primary source which they suspect is the bile duct. He was told that the liver was inoperable but treatable so we don’t know if this buys us any time. We live in Canada so I’m not sure if we have the same options that the US has.
With a biopsy of the tumor, pathologist doctors can frequently (but not all the time) tell the type of cancer by the proteins it produces. In addition, since the situation is serious, I would ask his doctor to order genetic analysis of the tumor (called Next Gen Sequencing) that may identify proteins that can be targeted (for example, FGFR is a frequent one for bile duct cancer). When the doctor says 'treatable' they usually mean that it would buy him time. However, I would look into clinical trials that strive to do better (or for longer times). I see several across Canada, with the most in Toronto and Montreal. If you can get treatment in the US, consider a trip down to Seattle to get an opinion about treatment. I recommend Dr. William P. Harris or Dr. David Zhen who is running this trial: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04203160.
Jason Sager, MD
