Diagnosing Liver Cancer

Types of Liver Cancer

Cancer may either start in the liver or spread from other organs to the liver. Although rarely there may be other types, most cancers in adults that start within the liver are called hepatomas or hepatocellular carcinomas. Many cancers that start within other organ sites spread to the liver because of its central location receiving blood flow from the abdominal contents, its central role in degrading waste products and toxins, and also because of the presence of “rich soil” within the liver that allows the implantation and growth of tumor cells more readily there than in many other places in the body. Cancers that spread frequently to the liver include, among others, cancers of the colon, rectum, melanomas, sarcomas, breast, and neuroendocrine sites (carcinoids, insulinomas, etc). Two other types of cancer should also be considered when discussing the different types of liver cancer. Gallbladder cancers and bile duct cancers are respectively attached to the surface of the liver, in the case of cancer of the gallbladder, or are either located next to or within the liver, in the case of cancers of the bile duct. Due to their intimate contact with the liver, the liver must be dealt with in the management of these two types of malignancies as well.

Read more about the symptoms that the different liver cancer types can cause.

Hepatocellular carcinomas have a subcategory called fibrolamellar hepatomas. These cancers generally occur in a younger population of patients. They are thought to have a more favorable outlook compared with other HCC’s, if you compare tumors of the same stage. Also HCC’s can have a pathologic variant in which the tumor is a combination HCC and cholangiocarcinoma. This can occur since the cells of the liver, the hepatocytes, and the cells of the bile duct coexist side by side as the bile ducts drain the bile produced by the hepatocytes from the liver. Cancers can also occur in any cell within an organ such as the liver. Cancers of the blood vessel cells within the liver are called hemangioendotheliomas. Sarcomas and angiosarcomas are cancers of the connective tissue. Cancers of the liver that occur in children are most often hepatoblastomas, but hepatocellular carcinomas can also occur in children. These childhood malignancies are quite rare. My practice is limited to the care of adults and I do not see children with liver malignancies.

If you have more questions on the types of liver cancers, please contact my office.