The liver is a large organ occupying the upper right portion of the abdomen. It is an important organ with many functions, production of bile which is needed for the digestion of fat in the intestines, protein synthesis, Storage of glucose and fat and also breakdown of toxic substances such as alcohol.
Liver cancer also known as hepatocellular cancer, arises from hepatocytes. hepatocellular cancer often develops only in liver that is severely damaged by longstanding diseases or chemicals. The liver becomes hardened and shrunken – a condition called liver cirrhosis.
When the liver cancer is small (less than 5 cm diameter), it often does not present symptoms as the liver is a large organ. When bigger and more advanced, a liver cancer can infiltrate the liver capsule or obstruct the bile ducts. At this stage, it causes symptoms.
Liver cancer can form many nodules within the liver and also spread into the blood vessels. These features make it difficult to surgically remove them.
The liver is also the seat of another type of cancer called secondary or metastatic cancer. The main cancer forms elsewhere in the body and secondary deposits are formed in the liver. A common example is colorectal cancer spreading to the liver via the bloodstream.
As well as mixed tumors, rarer forms of liver cancer include:
*mesenchymal tissue
*Sarcoma
*Hepatoblastoma, a rare malignant tumor, primarily developing in children. Most of these tumors form in the right lobe.
*Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancers), which 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 intestine.
*Angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma: 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. Most patients do not live more than a year after diagnosis.
*Lymphoma of liver: A rare form of lymphoma that usually have diffuse infiltration to liver. It may also form a liver mass in rare occasions.
