Cancer

Liver Cancer

Primary liver cancer is cancer that forms in the tissues of the liver. Secondary liver cancer is cancer that spreads to the liver from another part of the body. The most common primary liver cancer in adults is called hepatoma or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In addition, tumors that originate elsewhere in the body (e.g. colon or breast) frequently metastasize to the liver. Liver cancer has the fastest growing death rate amongst all cancers in the U.S. Most liver cancer in the U.S. and globally is secondary to chronic viral hepatitis, both chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C. There were 21,370 new cases in 2008 according to the National Cancer Institute.