Liver Cancer

Liver Cancer

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

Liver cancer is a disease involving uncontrolled growth of cells within the liver.

Cancer in the liver may be primary or secondary, also called metastatic. Primary cancer arises within the liver and in its early stages exists only within the liver. People who have hepatitis B or C, viral infections of the liver, or cirrhosis of the liver are more likely than other people to develop primary liver cancer. At an early stage primary liver cancer may cause no symptoms at all. More advanced disease may cause loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, fatigue and weakness.

Secondary liver cancer is term for cancer that originates in another organ, such as the colon, stomach, pancreas and breast and then spreads to the liver. Because secondary cancer is present in at least two organs, the treatment possibilities are more limited than for primary liver cancer. As the cancer grows, pain may develop in the upper abdomen on the right side and may extend into the back and shoulder. With advanced disease, the signs of liver failure appear, which include abdominal swelling and a feeling of fullness or bloating and jaundice, a condition in which the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellow and the urine becomes dark.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated November 20, 2007