The Moores UCSD Cancer Center is a comprehensive center for the diagnosis, treatment and research of liver disease. Our special expertise in liver cancer includes:

• A multidisciplinary team of gastroenterologists, medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists and radiologists who meet weekly to review every new case, to determine the best possible treatment
• UCSD’s Liver Imaging Group, which developed new techniques for non-invasive imaging of liver cancer and pre-cancerous conditions
• Surgeons and interventional radiologists with expertise in minimally invasive techniques that allow faster patient recovery
• Liver transplant surgeons with extensive skill in liver resection (removal)
• And researchers who continually search for new therapies. 

Most importantly, you can be sure that UCSD’s team of caring professionals will be with you every step of the way with a treatment plan and ongoing care that meets your needs.

Benign Liver Tumors

Both benign (non-cancerous) and malignant tumors can form in the liver. 

• The most common type of benign liver tumor is a hemangioma, which causes no symptoms and usually does not need treatment unless there are bleeding problems. 
• Hepatic adenomas are benign tumors that may eventually cause symptoms, such as pain or a mass in the abdomen. Since these tumors carry a small risk of developing into liver cancer, your doctor may recommend surgical removal. 
• Another benign growth is called a focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH).  Because it is sometimes difficult to tell an FNH from a malignancy, your doctor may suggest surgical removal.

UCSD’s Liver Imaging Group is developing techniques to non-invasively diagnose benign liver tumors and reliably differentiate benign from malignant lesions, which will reduce the frequency with which benign lesions are mistaken for cancers.

Malignant Liver Tumors

Primary tumors are those that start in the liver.  Many times, however, cancer found in the liver didn’t start there – it spread (metastasized) from somewhere else in the body.  Secondary liver tumors are usually named for their site of origin, such as breast cancer or colon cancer.

Examples of primary liver tumors are:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is also called hepatoma because tumors come from the hepatocyte liver cells, accounts for three out of every four cancers that start in the liver.  Chronic liver damage, such as from cirrhosis or hepatitis, is a common cause of these tumors.  Fortunately, the UCSD Liver Imaging Group is developing techniques to non-invasively assess chronic liver damage before it progresses to cirrhosis.  In turn, this should help researchers develop therapies that prevent progression from chronic damage to cirrhosis. It is especially important to determine the extent (or stage) of HCC to determine the optimal treatment.
• Cholangiocarcinomas, which start in the small bile ducts within the liver, account for about 10 – 20% of primary liver tumors. Chronic inflammation of the bile ducts is a common cause of these tumors.
• Angiosarcomas and hemangiosarcomas are rare cancers that begin in blood vessels of the liver. 
• Hepatoblastoma is a very rare liver cancer that develops in children, usually younger than four years of age. About 70% of children with this disease are treated successfully with surgery and chemotherapy.

Read More

• Read more about Adult Primary Liver Cancer from the NCI

• Causes, prevention and symptoms of liver cancer
• Imaging, testing and diagnosis of liver cancer
• Options for treatment