What is Liver Cancer?

Liver cancer happens when abnormal cells in the liver grow and multiply out of control. Your liver is the largest organ inside your belly and carries out many important functions, such as:

• Helping your body convert the vitamin D it receives from the sun into a form your body can use
• Making steroids, which serve as the building blocks for certain hormones, like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and others
• Storing extra sugar
• Producing bile that your gallbladder uses to break down fat from the foods you eat
• Manufacturing the cells your immune system needs to fight infections and keep you healthy

Each year in the United States, approximately 28,600 men and 12,660 women are diagnosed with liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer, usually between 55 and 84 years of age.

A liver cancer diagnosis often begins with an observation of a growth on the liver. Generally, there are two types of growths — benign and malignant. Benign growths are non-cancerous, can be removed, are rarely life-threatening, and do not grow back. They also do not invade the tissues around them and do not spread to other parts of the body.

Malignant growths, on the other hand, are cancerous. They may be life-threatening, and even if they are removed, may still grow back. They can also spread and damage nearby tissues and organs such as the stomach or intestine and can spread to other parts of the body.