Understanding Liver Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Adult primary liver cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the liver.
The liver is one of the largest organs in the body. It has two lobes and fills the upper right side of your abdomen. It has a few important functions: it filters harmful substances from your blood, it makes bile that help you digest fats, and it stores a type of sugar called glycogen for energy.
There are two types of adult primary liver cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).
Having hepatitis or cirrhosis can increase your risk for liver cancer.
Like most cancer types, liver cancer is divided into stages, according to how much it has spread out of the liver into the rest of your body.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Hepatic Cancer
- Primary Hepatic Cancer
- Primary Hepatic Malignancy
- HCC

Signs & symptoms

Signs and symptoms of liver cancer include a lump or pain on the right side, swollen belly, jaundice (yellowing of your eyes and skin) and unintentional weight loss.
These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by liver cancer or by other conditions.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and medical history, then he or she will perform a physical exam. The following tests will be done next:
-Blood tests- to check your liver function and tumor markers
-Imaging test such as CT scan, Ultrasound or MRI
-Biopsy- a small piece of the abnormal tissues is taken out so it can be viewed under a microscope.

Treatment

There are many types of treatment for patients with liver cancer. The treatment depends on the type of cancer, its stage and your general health:
-Surgery – to remove the part of liver containing the cancer
-Liver transplant- a surgery that will replace your sick liver with a piece of a donor’s healthy liver
-Ablation therapy- non-surgical treatment that aims to kill cancerous cells using heat, laser etc.
-Embolization- a treatment that blocks the blood supply to the tumor, which will cause it to "starve" and stop growing.
-Chemotherapy- medication that will kill cancerous cells or stop their growing.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital