Stereotactic radiation therapy for hepatic malignancies

Management of primary and secondary tumors of the liver is a complex undertaking involving multidisciplinary input. Radiation therapy has played a relatively marginal role in the treatment of liver tumors, but with technological innovations and the growth of the field of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), this role is evolving. In this review, I discuss the issues of radiationinduced hepatic toxicity, the planning of liver SBRTtreatments, clinical results with SBRT, its place amongst other nonsurgical ablative treatments, and potential future avenues of investigation.