Liver tumours can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). When cancer is detected in the liver, it can either arise from the liver itself (primary liver cancer), or spread from other parts of the body to the liver (secondary liver cancer). Common benign tumours/nodules in the liver are hemangioma (tumour of blood vessel origin), and Focal Nodular Hyperplasia (FNH), which is strictly speaking not a tumour but an overgrowth of normal liver cells.
The most common primary liver cancer is Hepatocellular Carcinoma, which often arises from a person who is infected with Hepatitis B. Increasingly, HCC is also seen in patients who have liver cirrhosis secondary to Non- Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Cirrhosis from any other causes also places the liver at risk of developing HCC.
