About half of patients with colon or rectal cancer will experience spread of cancer to the liver at some point. Half of these patients will have liver disease at the same time as the primary tumor is diagnosed.
Surgical therapies for colon and rectal cancer liver metastases:
Non-surgical therapies for colon and rectal cancer liver metastases:
(also known as hepatoma, primary liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC)
Hepatocellular cancer; also known as hepatoma, liver cancer, hepatocellular cancer, or HCC; is the fastest rising cause of cancer related death among men and women in the United States. Most cases of hepatocellular cancer arise in the setting of cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver. Common causes of cirrhosis include hepatitis viral infection (hepatitis B or C), alcoholic liver disease, and fatty liver disease.
Hepatocellular cancer can invade the blood vessels supplying the liver and may spontaneously bleed. This cancer can also spread outside the liver, most often to the lungs.
A key factor in the therapy for hepatocellular cancer is that many patients will have some liver dysfunction in addition to having cancer. The cancer therapy must not only treat the cancer, but also not push the patient into liver failure.
Surgical therapies for hepatocellular cancer:
Non-surgical therapies for hepatocellular cancer:
Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, can occur within the liver (intrahepatic), outside the liver in the common bile duct (perihilar), or at the end of the bile duct near the pancreas (distal).
Most cases of cholangiocarcinoma arise without any prior liver disease. However, a minority of cholangiocarcinoma cases will arise in the setting of background liver disease (such as primary sclerosing cholangitis), bile duct infections, or cirrhosis.
A key factor in the therapy for hepatocellular cancer is that many patients will have some liver dysfunction in addition to having cancer. The cancer therapy must not only treat the cancer, but also not push the patient into liver failure.
Surgical therapies for cholangiocarcinoma:
Non-surgical therapies for cholangiocarcinoma:
The gallbladder is an organ attached to the undersurface of the right liver. It stores bile made by the liver and can release that bile into the intestine through the bile duct. In the United States, gallbladder cancer most commonly occurs after repeated inflammatory damage due to gallstones. For that reason, gallbladder cancer is most often diagnosed “incidentally” after a cholecystectomy is done for presumed gallstone disease. It is estimated that 1% of gallbladders removed in the United States have cancer.
Gallbladder cancer can be aggressive with potential of spread to the liver, peritoneum (abdominal wall), surrounding lymph nodes, and outside the abdomen to the lungs.
Surgical therapies for gallbladder cancer:
Non-surgical therapies for gallbladder cancer: