Hepatic tumors

Liver tumors, like tumors of any organ, can be classified as primary or secondary.

Metastases

Liver metastases are by far the most common hepatic malignancy, with many of the most common primaries readily seeding to the liver. This is especially the case with gastrointestinal tract tumors, due to portal drainage through the liver .

Primary malignant tumors

• hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
  • 80-90%
  • usually in the setting of cirrhosis or hepatitis B virus
• intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
  • 7-10%
  • 20% in the Far East
• hepatic angiosarcoma (previously known as Kupffer cell sarcoma)
  • rare (~1%)
  • Thorotrast and arsenic implicated
• epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
  • very rare
  • younger patients than angiosarcomas
• other sarcomas, e.g. fibrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, Kaposi sarcoma
• primary lymphoma
• biliary cystadenocarcinoma
• hepatoblastoma
  • seen in children
• embryonal sarcoma

Primary benign tumors

• hepatic hemangioma (most common)
• biliary hamartoma
• biliary cystadenoma
• hepatic adenoma
• focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH)
• hepatic angiomyolipoma
• hepatic myelolipoma
• lipoma
• leiomyoma
• benign teratoma
• peliosis hepatis

See also

• liver lesions