1. Take the Liver Disease Quiz
2. Hepatitis Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Hepatitis
3. Take the Alcohol Quiz

Medical Author:

Keith E. Stuart, MD

Keith E. Stuart, MD

Dr. Keith E. Stuart is a medical oncologist specializing in the study and treatment of cancers involving the gastrointestinal tract, with a special interest in tumors involving the liver. He was educated at Harvard University (graduating magna cum laude) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and did his medical training at the New England Deaconess Hospital.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

Usually, when people speak of liver cancer, they mean a cancer that has begun somewhere else in the body and then spread to the liver. This is called metastatic disease or metastases. Due partly to its very high blood flow and local production of growth-enhancing molecules, the liver is one of the most common places for metastases to take root. Tumors that originally arise in the colon, pancreas, stomach, lung, breast, or elsewhere can spread to the liver, sometimes causing pain or damaging liver function. In the Western Hemisphere, most cases of liver cancer actually are cancers that started in another organ.

Sometimes, cancer may arise in the cells of the liver itself. Cancer of the hepatocytes (the main functioning liver cell) is a primary liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatoma. Hepatoma usually grows in the liver as one or more round tumors, invading and destroying the normal tissue as it expands. Cancer of the bile duct cells is called cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma generally grows along the bile ducts in sheets or finger-like lines, making it harder to identify on X-ray studies.

Must Read Articles Related to Liver Cancer

Alcoholism Alcohol problems vary in severity from mild to life threatening and affect the individual, the person's family, and society in numerous adverse ways. Despite al...learn more >>

Ascites Ascites is an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (abdominal cavity). The primary cause of ascites is liver disease such as cirrhosis, acute liver fa...learn more >>

Cancer Symptoms Most symptoms and signs of cancer may also be explained by harmless conditions, so it's important to limit one's risk factors and undergo appropriate cancer scr...learn more >>

See the Entire Liver Cancer Topic Guide »