What Liver Cancer Is
Most liver cancer does not actually originate in the liver; it spreads to the liver from a cancer elsewhere in the body. When this happens, the disease is not considered primary liver cancer. The cancer is referred to by the name of its original site and as metastatic, meaning it has spread (i.e. metastatic colon cancer). It may also be referred to as secondary liver cancer.
Cancer that begins in the liver is called primary liver cancer. In the United States, this type of cancer is relatively uncommon.
Facts About Liver Cancer
Following are some facts about liver cancer:
- About 14,000 cases of primary liver cancer are diagnosed each year.
- Primary liver cancer is twice as common in men as in women.
- Of the approximately 140,000 individuals who are diagnosed with colon cancer each year,
roughly half of them will develop tumors in their liver (secondary liver cancer) at the same time.
- In contrast to many other types of cancer, the number of people who get primary liver
cancer and die from it is increasing.
- Asian Americans have the highest rate of primary liver cancer in the United States;
African Americans and Hispanic Americans also have higher rates than do Caucasians.