What is the Liver?
The liver is an organ whose primary functions include releasing bile into the intestines to aid in digestion, breaking down and storing nutrients, clearing medications from the body and removing toxic substances from the blood. The liver also produces clotting factors, which prevent excessive blood loss from minor injuries. The liver is the largest internal organ in the body, and is located in the upper-right-hand part of the abdominal cavity, just under the ribcage and beneath the diaphragm.
What is Liver Cancer?
Liver cancer is a cancer that develops in the liver. It could be either a primary liver cancer when the cancer has developed from liver cells, or secondary liver cancer (liver metastasis) when the cancer has developed in another organ and spread to the liver. For a liver metastasis, the neoplastic cells reach the liver by blood stream.
Types of Liver Cancer
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Primary Liver Cancer
Primary liver cancer is any form of cancer that originates in the cells of the liver. There are 4 main types of primary liver cancer: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), Cholangiocarcinoma, Angiosarcoma/hemangiosarcoma, and Hepatoblastoma. Please refer to "Understanding Liver Cancer" for more information.
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Secondary Liver Cancer
Secondary liver cancer, or liver metastasis, refers to a cancer that began in another part of the body but has spread, or metastasized, to the liver. This document will focus primarily on secondary liver cancer.
Secondary Liver Cancer
Secondary liver cancer occurs when a cancer that begins in another part of the body spreads (metastasizes) to the liver. Liver metastases occur more often than primary liver cancer. The liver is a common site for cancer metastases. Cancer cells can break off from the primary tumor in another part of the body and travel to the liver through the blood vessels. The primary tumors that most commonly spread to the liver are colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer. About 20-25% of colon cancers patients will eventually develop a liver metastasis. Cancer cells from colorectal tumors break off and travel from the intestines to the liver through the portal vein. Other tumors that can metastasize to the liver include:
