Types of liver cancer
Some cancers begin in the cells of the liver itself – these are called primary liver cancer. More commonly, cancers start in cells in other organs of the body but then spread to the liver – this is called secondary liver cancer. Your doctor may use the term ‘liver metastasis’ (which is another way of saying that cancer has spread to the liver). It is possible for there to be several cancer deposits (metastases) in the liver.
There is more than one sort of primary liver cancer. One such type starts within the cells which make up most of the liver tissue – this is known as a hepatoma, or sometimes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC for short).
Another type begins in the cells which line the tubes (or ducts) that carry the bile out of the liver – this bile duct cancer is known as a cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatomas usually occur in people who have an underlying liver disease, such as scarring of the liver (also known as cirrhosis) and can be a long-term result of chronic hepatitis. There is no association between cirrhosis and the development of cholangiocarcinoma.
However, in the UK, secondary liver cancer is about 30 times more common than these primary liver cancers. Secondary cancer occurs in people who have a primary cancer which has begun elsewhere. The usual sites in the body where primary tumours develop before spreading to the liver include the lung, breast, large bowel,
stomach and pancreas. Cancer cells usually spread to the liver from the primary tumour through the bloodstream.
Other, much less common, types of cancers can occur in the liver. These grow at different speeds. Your doctor will explain if you have one of these sorts of tumour.
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