Liver cancer refers to malignant growths that arise in the liver. Cancer cells found in the liver that originated in another organ are called liver metastases. The liver is found below the right lung and under the ribcage. It is divided into two lobes: the right and the left. The liver obtains protein from the portal vein. The portal vein carries nutrient-rich blood from the intestines to the liver. The hepatic artery provides oxygen-rich blood to the liver.
Cancers that start in the liver are hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), hepatoblastoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma, normally diagnosed among younger individuals, contains variations of HCC and cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatoblastoma, normally diagnosed among children, is mostly a tumor form in the right lobe that can spread to other parts of the body. Cholangiocarcinoma or bile duct cancer start in the small tubes (bile ducts) that carry bile to the gallbladder. Angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma are rare forms of cancer that arise in the blood vessels which grow quickly and by the time they are found, they are too widespread to be removed making patients live shorter than a year in most cases.