Primary liver cancer occurs in livers damaged by birth defects, alcohol abuse, or chronic infection with diseases such as hepatitis B and C, hemochromatosis (a hereditary disease associated with too much iron in the liver), and cirrhosis. More than half of all people diagnosed with primary liver cancer have cirrhosis, a scarring condition of the liver commonly caused by alcohol abuse. The signs and symptoms depend on what type of cancer is present. Cholangiocarcinoma is associated with sweating, jaundice, abdominal pain, weight loss and liver enlargement.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with abdominal mass, abdominal pain, emesis, anemia, back pain, jaundice, weight loss and fever. Many imaging modalities are used to aid in the diagnosis of primary liver cancer. For HCC these include sonography , computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Tumor markers, chemicals sometimes found in the blood of people with cancer, can be helpful in monitoring the course of liver cancers. Treatment for Hepatocellular carcinoma is Surgical resection which is often the treatment of choice for non-cirrhotic livers.
For Cholangiocarcinoma, Resection is an option in cholangiocarcinoma, but less than 30% of cases of cholangiocarcinoma are resectable at diagnosis. For Hepatoblastoma, Removing the tumor by either surgical resection or liver transplant can be used in the treatment of hepatoblastoma. In some cases surgery can offer a cure. Chemotherapy may be used before and after surgery and transplant. Vaccination for hepatitis C virus is currently unavailable. Liver cancer is the eighteenth most common cancer in the UK (around 4,300 people were diagnosed with liver cancer in the UK in 2011), and it is the twelfth most common cause of cancer death (around 4,500 people died of the disease in 2012).