Definition
Liver cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer but has a high mortality rate. Liver cancers can be classified into two types. They are either primary, when the cancer starts in the liver itself, or metastatic, when the cancer has spread to the liver from some other part of the body. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that has metastasized (spread) from another place in the body to the liver.
Description
* Metastatic liver cancer
The second major category of liver cancer, metastatic liver cancer, is about 20 times as common in the United States as primary liver cancer. Because blood from all parts of the body must pass through the liver for filtration, cancer cells from other organs and tissues easily reach the liver, where they can lodge and grow into secondary tumors. Primary cancers in the colon, stomach, pancreas, rectum, esophagus, breast, lung, or skin are the most likely to metastasize (spread) to the liver. It is not unusual for the metastatic cancer in the liver to be the first noticeable sign of a cancer that started in another organ. After cirrhosis, metastatic liver cancer is the most common cause of fatal liver disease.
* Primary liver cancer
Primary liver cancer is a relatively rare disease in the United States, representing about 2% of all malignancies and 4% of newly diagnosed cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world as of 2004. It is much more common outside the United States, representing 10% to 50% of malignancies in Africa and parts of Asia. Rates of HCC in men are at least two to three times higher than for women. In high-risk areas (East and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa), men are even more likely to have HCC than women.
One type of primary liver cancer, called a hepatoblastoma, usually occurs in children younger than four years of age and between the ages of 12 and 15. Unlike liver cancers in adults, hepatoblastomas have a good chance of being treated successfully. Approximately 70% of children with hepatoblastomas experience complete cures. If the tumor is detected early, the survival rate is over 90%.