| Types of Primary Liver Cancer | |||
| Type of Liver Cancer | Where Does the Cancer Start? | How Common Is the Cancer? | Additional Information Resources |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) | Liver cells called hepatocytes | The most common type of liver cancer Accounts for about 90% of liver cancers |
National Cancer Institute American Cancer Society American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| Bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) | The bile duct, which begins inside the liver and extends to the small intestine | Accounts for about 9% of liver cancers | The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation |
| Angiosarcoma | Blood vessels in the liver | Accounts for less than 1% of liver cancers | |
| Gallbladder cancer | Gallbladder lining | Accounts for less than 1% of liver cancers | GI Cancers Alliance |
| Hepatoblastoma | Embryonic (or early stage) liver cells | Very rare kind of liver cancer usually found in children younger than 4 years | Hepatoblastoma |
| Fibrolamellar carcinoma | Found in hepatocytes but often involves growth into the bile ducts | Rare and unique form of liver cancer occurring most commonly in children and young adults without hepatitis or cirrhosis. Accounts for less than 1% to 8% of all hepatocellular carcinomas | |
| Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) | Tumor often spreads all through the liver and/or to the lungs | The third most common liver cancer in children and adolescents; usually occurs in children aged between 5 and 10 years | Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) |
| Infantile choriocarcinoma | Starts in the placenta and spreads to the fetus | Very rare type of cancer usually found during the first few months of life | Infantile choriocarcinoma |
| Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma | Cancer of the blood vessels in the liver and other organs | Rare type of cancer occurring in infants; tumors are often benign (not cancer), but a small number of children may develop cancerous tumors over time | Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma |
What is Liver Cancer?
Cancer is a disease in which normal cells change and grow uncontrollably, that can form a lump called a tumor or mass. A tumor can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). The name of the cancer depends on the part of the body where the cancer first started.
Cancer that starts in the liver is called primary liver cancer. Cancer that has spread to the liver from another part of the body (a process known as metastasis) is not called liver cancer. On this website, the term “liver cancer” refers to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer that starts in liver cells. Other types of less common liver cancers (also called hepatobiliary cancers) can start in bile duct cells (cholangiocarcinoma), liver blood vessels (angiosarcoma) or gallbladder cells (gallbladder cancer).
In the United States, primary liver cancer has become the fastest growing cancer in terms of incidence, in both men and women. From 2012-2016, the incidence of liver cancer increased by 2.5%, the largest increase of any cancer during that time period. In 2018, an estimated 42,220 new cases of liver cancer were diagnosed and an estimated 30,200 people died.
Liver cancer mortality continues to increase, especially among Caucasian, Alaskan Native, American Indian and Hispanic males. Liver cancer disproportionately impacts certain communities more than others: In the U.S., it is now the 5th most common cause of cancer death for men overall, but the 2nd most common cause of cancer death among Asian American and Pacific Islander men, and the 4th most common cause of cancer death among Alaskan Native, American Indian and Hispanic males. The five-year survival rate is about 18%.