Liver metastases

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Digestive system organs

Hepatocellular cancer, CT scan

Liver biopsy

Liver metastases, CT scan

Liver metastases is cancer that has spread to the liver from somewhere else in the body.

See also: Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)

Metastases to the liver

Cancer that may spread to the liver include colorectal, pancreatic, stomach and esophageal cancers, as well as breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, and a number of other cancers.

The reasons for the spread of cancer vary. It depends both on blood flow and on the characteristics of the different cancer cells. For example, cancers of the gastrointestinal tract often spread to the liver because blood flows directly from these organs to the liver. Melanoma usually spreads through the body's blood vessels to the liver.

The risk of cancer spreading to the liver depends on the site of the original cancer. The liver cancer may also be present when the original (primary) cancer is diagnosed, or may occur months or years after the primary tumor is removed.

Review Date: 09/11/2006
Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.