LIVER CANCER
Liver cancer is a cancer which starts in the liver, as opposed to a cancer which originates in another organ and migrates to the liver, known as a liver metastasis. Several distinct types of tumors (abnormal growths) can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. Tumors that are cancerous are termed malignant and tumors that do not contain cancer are termed benign. Liver cancer thus consists of the presence of malignant hepatic tumors -- tumors or growths on or in the liver.
The following cancers are known to start in the liver:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): Patients who develop this cancer normally are in the younger population. These tumors also contain a variation that consists of the HCC and cholangiocarcinoma. The cells of the bile duct coexist next to the bile ducts that drain the bile produced by the hepatocytes of the liver. The cancers within the blood vessel cells within the liver are known has hemangioendotheliomas.
- Hepatoblastoma: Most of these tumors form in the right lobe. Children primarily develop hepatoblastoma and the cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body.
- Cholangiocarcinomas (bile duct cancers): Cholangiocarcinomas account for 1 or 2 out of every 10 cases of liver cancer. These cancers start in the small tubes (called bile ducts) that carry bile to the gallbladder.
- Angiosarcomas and hemangiosarcomas: These are rare forms of cancer that start in the blood vessels of the liver. These tumors grow quickly. Often by the time they are found they are too widespread to be removed. Treatment may help slow the disease, but most patients do not live more than a year after these cancers are found.
