Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
What a liver cancer multidisciplinary meeting decides | CION Cancer Clinics
A liver tumour board is a meeting where the specialists who treat liver cancer review your scans together and agree one plan. It weighs the tumour, the strength of your liver and your overall fitness, then recommends a treatment and its order. This page is about cancer that starts in the liver. If cancer has spread to the liver from elsewhere, the board for that cancer leads. At CION Cancer Clinics in Hyderabad, our oncologists explain liver cancer in plain words and plan care around you and your family.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed October 2026, next review due October 2027
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On this page
- What is a liver tumour board, and what does it decide?
- What does the board look at before it decides?
- What happens to my case before and after the meeting?
- What can the board recommend?
- Four things families assume about the tumour board
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about the liver tumour board
The short answer
What is a liver tumour board, and what does it decide?
A liver tumour board is a meeting where the specialists who treat liver cancer look at your scans and reports together and agree one treatment plan. It decides which treatment fits your tumour and your liver, in what order, and what to check first. You usually do not attend. Your doctor brings the plan back to you and your family to discuss.
Primary or secondary: which board?
This page is about primary liver cancer, the kind that starts in the liver, most often hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). If your report says cancer has spread to the liver from the bowel, breast, stomach or pancreas, that is secondary liver cancer. The board for the original cancer leads that discussion, with liver specialists joining when surgery or a procedure on the liver is being weighed. Read what secondary liver cancer means if that is your situation.
Why liver cancer needs one more than most
Liver cancer often grows inside a liver already scarred by hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcohol or fatty liver. A treatment that would suit the tumour may be too much for that liver. Weighing both at once takes a surgeon, an oncologist, a liver specialist and a radiologist in the same conversation. One doctor seeing you alone cannot hold every option in view.
On the table
What does the board look at before it decides?
Three things decide liver cancer treatment, and the board weighs them together. A fourth, your own wishes, matters just as much.
The tumour
How many tumours there are, how large, and where they sit. Whether a main blood vessel such as the portal vein is involved. Whether the cancer has spread outside the liver.
From
- Triple-phase CT or liver MRI
- A biopsy, if one was needed
- AFP, a tumour marker blood test
The liver
How well the rest of the liver works. The board reads bilirubin, albumin and clotting results, looks for fluid in the abdomen, and gives a Child-Pugh grade, a simple score of liver strength.
A weak liver can rule out a treatment the tumour alone would allow.You
How you spend your day, whether you can walk and look after yourself, and any heart, kidney or sugar problems. Doctors call this performance status.
What you want
How far you can travel, what you can afford, and what matters most to you. Tell your doctor before the meeting, so the plan fits your life as well as your scan.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistFrom scan to plan
What happens to my case before and after the meeting?
Your reports are gathered
Your doctor collects the scans themselves, not just the written reports, along with blood tests, any biopsy and your medical history. Missing scans are the commonest cause of delay.
The radiologist reviews the images
The scans are shown on screen to the whole group. Sometimes an older scan is re-read, or a better scan is asked for before anyone decides.
Each specialist gives a view
The surgeon says whether removal is possible. The interventional radiologist says whether ablation or TACE would reach the tumour. The oncologist speaks to medicines, and the liver specialist to safety.
One plan is agreed and written down
The board records a recommendation, any tests still needed, and who will see you next.
You hear it and decide
Your doctor explains the plan and the alternatives. You can ask questions, take time, or ask for a second opinion. See getting your case discussed at a tumour board.
On the board summary
What can the board recommend?
- Resection
- Removing the part of the liver that holds the tumour. See liver resection.
- Ablation
- Destroying a small tumour with heat through a needle, without opening the abdomen.
- Transplant referral
- Assessment at a licensed transplant centre, which makes its own decisions.
- TACE or TARE
- Treatment given through a fine tube into the liver's artery, to starve or irradiate the tumour.
- Systemic therapy
- Immunotherapy or targeted tablets that work through the whole body.
- Further tests first
- A new scan, a biopsy or a liver check, before any decision.
- Supportive care
- Treatment aimed at comfort and the liver itself, when cancer treatment would do more harm than good.
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Commonly believed
Four things families assume about the tumour board
"The board has decided, so we have no say."
The board makes a recommendation. You make the decision. Doctors expect questions, and a family may choose a different option once the trade-offs are explained.
"Waiting for the meeting is wasting time."
A short wait for the right plan is usually safer than a fast start on the wrong one. If symptoms get worse while you wait, call your team at once. Do not wait for the meeting.
"If they asked for another scan, the news must be bad."
A board often asks for a better scan simply because the first one does not show the detail needed to choose between treatments. It says nothing about how serious the cancer is.
"A board only matters in big cases."
A small tumour found early is exactly when the choice between surgery, ablation and transplant is closest, and when a team view matters most.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what the board will recommend for you. That depends on details only your own scans and blood tests show, and two people with tumours of the same size can receive quite different plans. Read how your treatment is chosen for the reasoning in more detail.
Who this does not apply to
Children with liver tumours are discussed by a children's cancer team. Gallbladder cancer has its own specialists. If the cancer began elsewhere, the board for that cancer leads. A board also cannot change transplant waiting-list rules, which belong to the licensed transplant centre and the state organ-sharing system.
How it works at CION
At CION, cases are discussed by a multidisciplinary tumour board before a plan is confirmed. Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy and supportive care are given at CION centres. Scans, biopsy, hepatology, procedures, radiation, surgery and transplant are coordinated through accredited partner hospitals and licensed centres. Your team will tell you where each step takes place.
If you already have a plan from another hospital and want it reviewed, bring every scan and report to the first appointment.Questions we are asked
Common questions about the liver tumour board
Can I or my family attend the meeting?
Usually not. The meeting is a working discussion between doctors, often about many patients. What you are owed is a clear explanation afterwards of what was recommended, why, and what the other options were. Bring a family member to that appointment and take notes.
How long does it take to get a plan?
It depends on how complete your reports are and when the next meeting falls. Having every scan, blood report and biopsy result ready is the single biggest thing that speeds it up. Ask your team when your case will be discussed and when you will hear.
Do I need a biopsy before the board can decide?
Not always. In a liver with cirrhosis, HCC can often be diagnosed confidently from a good triple-phase CT or MRI alone. A biopsy is asked for when the scan is unclear, or when the tumour may be a different kind of cancer.
What is a Child-Pugh grade and why does the board care?
It is a simple grade of how well the liver works, built from blood tests and signs such as fluid in the abdomen. It tells the board how much treatment the liver can safely take. See why Child-Pugh decides treatment.
Will the board give a prognosis?
The board plans treatment. It does not tell anyone how long they have. Your doctor can talk about what the treatment aims to do, whether that is removing the cancer or controlling it, and what to watch for. Ask those questions directly.
What if I disagree with the recommendation?
Say so and ask why the other options were set aside. Sometimes the answer changes your mind, and sometimes your reasons change the plan. A second opinion from another team is a reasonable step, and it does not offend a good team.
Is my case discussed again later?
Often, yes. After treatment, a new scan shows how the tumour responded, and the board may meet again to decide what comes next. The same happens if the cancer returns or the liver changes.
Can a plan from another hospital be reviewed at CION?
Yes. Call the helpline and send the scans, blood reports and the written plan. A CION oncologist will see you and can take your case to the tumour board for a second view before you start treatment.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's liver cancer specialists. Bring your scan reports and liver blood tests.
Our medical and surgical oncologists plan liver cancer care together, weighing the tumour and how well your liver works before choosing surgery, a liver-directed procedure or medicines.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
- EASL — EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines: management of hepatocellular carcinoma
- American Cancer Society — Treatment of Liver Cancer, by Stage
- Cancer Research UK — Treatment for liver cancer
- Cancer Research UK — Stages of liver cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Getting your case discussed at a tumour boardHow to make sure your case actually reaches oneWho treats liver cancerEach specialist on the board, explainedHow your treatment is chosenThe reasoning behind the board's recommendationGetting a second opinion on a liver cancer planIf you want another team to look again
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Send us your scans and reports, and a CION oncologist can take your case to the tumour board before you decide. One helpline serves every CION centre.