Episode # 647 • 21 May 2026
Optimizing Liver Cancer Treatment Through Collaboration
In treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the hardest question often isn’t which treatment to use, it’s who should lead, when to transition care, and how to keep every specialty aligned. In this App Exclusive episode of the BackTable Podcast, host Dr. Jon Mizrahi is joined by interventional radiologist Dr. Juan Gimenez and transplant surgeon Dr. Ari Cohen, to discuss the structure and evolution of Ochsner Health’s multidisciplinary tumor board. Through real-world cases, they illustrate how IR, hepatology, and transplant surgery collaborate to tailor treatment plans, coordinate transitions of care, and navigate follow-up challenges for complex HCC patients.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
01:59 - Background of Multidisciplinary Tumor Board
08:23 - Tumor Board Case and Treatment
13:43 - Checkpoint Inhibitors and Transplant
17:33 - Navigating Patient Follow-Ups in Multidisciplinary Approach
21:06 - Programmatic Tracking of Patient Outcomes
23:20 - Expectations and Key Points of Tumor Board Discussions
28:23 - Wrap-Up and Credits
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More about this episode
The discussion begins with background on the tumor board and the importance of each specialty in HCC management. The Drs. highlight transplant candidacy, Y90 radioembolization, and interpretation of elevated AFP levels. They also explain how cancer biomarkers are becoming more increasingly important for assessing tumor biology, especially in the risk of new lesions. The conversation reviews the expanding role of immune checkpoint inhibitors, including considerations for timing and washout prior to liver transplantation, and why live-donor transplants are favored.
Emphasizing the importance of longitudinal, shared ownership of HCC patients, they focus on how communication between specialties increases patient care. The episode concludes by examining Ochsner's prospective HCC outcomes database to better understand treatment response, recurrence, and long-term outcomes.
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