Imaging to optimize liver tumor ablation

Surgical resection remains the ideal treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma and metastasis to the liver. Many alternatives are available for treatment of nonsurgical candidates. Regardless of treatment, optimizing imaging in the pretreatment, treatment and post-treatment settings is critical in order to lower the rates of local tumor progression and maximize the effectiveness of treatment that may result in prolonged survival. This article summarizes some basic imaging techniques of primary and metastatic liver tumors with a focus on how to optimize their treatment with ablation.