Liver cancer is a cancer that starts in the liver. For a thorough understanding of liver cancer it is important to know a brief summary of how the liver works and functions. Within the body the liver can be characterized as the largest organ. It is located below the right lung and under the ribcage. The liver is divided into two lobes: the right lobe and left lobe. Protein is obtained by the liver from a set of sources. The portal vein carries nutrient rich blood from the intestines to the liver and the hepatic artery supplies the liver with blood that is rich in oxygen. Multiple types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up many various cells. Tumors that are cancerous are termed malignant and tumors that do not contain cancer are termed benign. Liver cancer is characterized by the presence of malignant hepatic tumors -- tumors or growths on or in the liver (medical terms pertaining to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hēpar, stem hēpat-). They may be discovered on medical imaging (even for a different reason than the cancer itself), or may be present in patients as an abdominal mass, abdominal pain, jaundice, or some other liver dysfunction.
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Liver cancer is a cancer that starts in the liver. For a thorough understanding of liver cancer it is important to know a brief summary of how the liver works and functions. Within the body the liver can be characterized as the largest organ. It is located below the right lung and under the ribcage. The liver is divided into two lobes: the right lobe and left lobe. Protein is obtained by the liver from a set of sources. The portal vein carries nutrient rich blood from the intestines to the liver and the hepatic artery supplies the liver with blood that is rich in oxygen. Multiple types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up many various cells. Tumors that are cancerous are termed malignant and tumors that do not contain cancer are termed benign. Liver cancer is characterized by the presence of malignant hepatic tumors -- tumors or growths on or in the liver (medical terms pertaining to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hēpar, stem hēpat-). They may be discovered on medical imaging (even for a different reason than the cancer itself), or may be present in patients as an abdominal mass, abdominal pain, jaundice, or some other liver dysfunction.
Classification
There are several types of liver cancer:
- Hemangiomas: These are the most common type of benign liver tumor. They start in blood vessels. Most of these tumors do not cause symptoms, they do not need treatment. Some may bleed and need to be removed if it is mild to severe.
- Hepatic adenomas: These benign epithelial liver tumors develop in the liver and are also an uncommon occurrence. They are, in most cases, located in the right hepatic lobe and are frequently seen as solitary. The size of adenomas range from 1 to 30 cm. Symptoms associated with hepatic adenomas are all associate with large lesions which can cause intense abdominal pain. Over the last few decades there has been an increase with occurrences of this specific type of adenoma. The prognosis for these tumors has still not been mastered. Some correlations have been made such as malignant transformation, spontaneous hemorrhage, and rupture.
- Focal nodular hyperplasia: Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is the second most common tumor of the liver. This tumor is the result of a congenital arteriovenous malformation hepatocyte response. This process is one in which all normal constituents of the liver are present, but the pattern by which they are presented is abnormal. Even though those conditions exist the liver still seems to perform in the normal range.
The American Liver Foundation founded 33 years ago; it gives great resources and support to patients and families battling with this prognosis. The American Liver Foundation claims that liver cancer is among the ten major causes of death. Knowing what the liver does and how important it is to human bodies can help to understand how serious liver cancer, and ways people can help theirselves be less likely to have this diagnosis.
