Liver cancer

Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, is a cancer that originates in the liver. Liver tumors are discovered on medical imaging equipment (often by accident) or present themselves symptomatically as an abdominal mass, abdominal pain, yellow skin, nausea or liver dysfunction.

The leading cause of liver cancer is cirrhosis due to either hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or alcohol. In 2013, 300,000 deaths from liver cancer were due to hepatitis B, 343,000 to hepatitis C and 92,000 to alcohol. Liver cancers are not the same as liver metastases, which start in another part of the body and spread to the liver. Liver cancers are formed from either the liver itself or from structures within the liver, including blood vessels or the bile duct.

Primary liver cancer is globally the sixth most frequent cancer, and the second leading cause of cancer death. In 2012 it occurred in 782,000 people and resulted in 746,000 deaths. Higher rates of liver cancer occur where hepatitis B and C are common, including East-Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.Five year survival rates are 17% in the United States. Hepatic is from the Greek hêpar, meaning "liver".

Hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also called malignant hepatoma, is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitis infection (hepatitis B or C) or cirrhosis (alcoholism being the most common cause of liver cirrhosis).

Treatment options for HCC and prognosis are dependent on many factors but especially on tumour size and staging. Tumour grade is also important. High-grade tumours will have a poor prognosis, while low-grade tumors may go unnoticed for many years, as is the case in many other organs.

HCC is relatively uncommon in the United States. In countries where hepatitis is uncommon, most cancers of the liver are not primary HCC but metastasis (cancers spread from elsewhere in the body such as the colon).

Signs and symptoms

Hepatocellular carcinoma may present with yellow skin, bloating from fluid in the abdomen, easy bruising from blood clotting abnormalities, loss of appetite, unintentional weight loss, abdominal pain especially in the right upper quadrant, nausea, vomiting, or feeling tired.