Liver
Overview

A cancer that starts in the liver is called primary liver cancer. There are several kinds of primary liver cancer, like Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the most common form of liver cancer in adults, and Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma etc.

Most of the time when cancer is found in the liver it did not start there but has spread (metastasized) from somewhere else in the body, such as the pancreas, colon, stomach, breast, or lung. Because this cancer has spread from its original (primary) site, it is called a secondary liver cancer.

Symptom

● Weight loss (without trying)
● Loss of appetite
● Feeling very full after a small meal
● Nausea or vomiting
● An enlarged liver, felt as fullness under the ribs on the right side
● An enlarged spleen, felt as fullness under the ribs on the left side
● Pain in the abdomen (belly) or near the right shoulder blade
● Swelling or fluid build-up in the abdomen (belly)
● Itching
● Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
● White, chalky stools

Other symptoms can include fever, enlarged veins on the belly that can be seen through the skin, and abnormal bruising or bleeding.

Treatment
Majority of patients suffering from liver tumors are not candidates for surgery. Radio frequency ablation, as a minimally invasive technique, has become available for local destruction of hepatic tumors. This technique applies alternating high-frequency electrical currents to the cancerous tissue. The intense heat leads to thermal coagulation that can kill the tumor. RFA is done under general or local anesthesia and can be done percutaneously, laparoscopically, or intraoperatively. Percutaneous RFA is usually a day procedure.