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Liver cancer can arise in two ways:
- Primary liver cancer (most commonly hepatocellular carcinoma) originates in the liver.
- Metastatic liver cancer results from the spread (metastasis) of cancer from other areas of the body.
Many cases of liver cancer are metastatic liver cancer. That’s because the liver has two blood supplies, so cancer can spread there from other places such as the colon, rectum, breast and kidney. In such cases, the other organs are considered the primary site of the cancer.
The exact cause of primary liver cancer is unknown, but risk factors include viral hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, alcohol use, exposure to toxins and intake of anabolic steroids.
Liver cancer patients often don’t experience symptoms prior to diagnosis. The cancer frequently is discovered during routine follow-up tests for previously diagnosed cancer outside the liver or during testing for the presence of viral hepatitis B or C.
Treatment of liver cancer may involve surgery, interventional radiological procedures, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Individual treatment depends largely on the type and extent of disease.
This website includes news, information, links and resources for liver cancer patients. | 
