What are the frequent tests used to evaluate liver cancer?

Liver Cancer: For screening, it depends on the liver center/physician. At a minimum a liver ultrasound is recommended for patients at risk for liver cancer as recommended by society guidelines. In practice, we alternate a good quality ultrasound with a CT scan or MRI of the liver every 6 months with an AFP blood test. If liver cancer is diagnosed, then a CT scan or MRI is needed to guide treatment.

Liver Cancer: The best test is mri. Special dyes can enhance liver cancer on mri. A triple phase CT can also be used to evaluate liver cancer. Since liver cancers are very vascular, they tend to light up on the early phase of a triple phase ct. While ultrasound is safe it is not as good at visualizing liver cancer as ct, mri. AFP is a tumor marker than can be elevated in liver cancer. This can be on followed.