Cancer that begins in the liver is referred to as primary liver cancer. Eighty-four percent of primary liver cancer develops from cells within the liver. Rarely, cancer may form in the liver's blood vessels, glands, and connective tissue. Most frequently, however, cancer of the liver has spread from another organ. This type of disease is called metastatic cancer.
Doctors universally refer to the spread of liver cancer by stages.
Although a formal staging system does exist, for purposes of treatment, patients with liver cancer are often categorized in one of three groups. Localized unresectable cancer is confined to an area of the liver that does not allow for its total surgical removal. Surgery may damage crucial blood vessels or impair the liver's function. Surgery may damage crucial blood vessels or impair the liver's function. In the absence of cirrhosis, signs may be more subtle.