Neoplasm in the liver: types, causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Unlike many common pathologies, most people do not have a clear idea about neoplasms in the liver. However, this organ plays an important role in the normal functioning of the body and maintaining health. With its help, there is a neutralization of toxic substances, their removal from cells and tissues. Any violations of the liver negatively affect well-being.

General characteristics of pathologies

There are several types of diseases of this organ. Neoplasms in the liver are a group of ailments of a benign or malignant nature. Tumors can be formed from parenchyma, bile ducts or blood vessels. The following symptoms indicate the presence of an ailment:

1. Feeling nauseous.
2. Loss of appetite.
3. Significant weight loss.
4. An increase in the size of the organ.
5. Yellow shade of skin and eye proteins.
6. Accumulation of fluid in the peritoneum.

Today, there are many ways to diagnose tumors in the liver. After the specialist will be able to establish the type of pathology, he will be able to make a decision about the therapy. The treatment of patients with such diseases, as a rule, includes surgical intervention. It consists in the removal of damaged areas of the body.

Types of tumor lesions of the liver

These pathologies are divided into benign and malignant. Diseases belonging to the first category are rare in medical practice. They, as a rule, are not characterized by vivid symptoms and are detected only during an ordinary examination. Oncological pathologies are more pronounced. Primary cancer is considered a common disease. Secondary neoplasm of the liver is diagnosed in some patients suffering from malignant tumors in the stomach, mammary glands, lungs, large intestine.

Neoplasms of a different nature can appear in a person of any gender and age group. However, especially often they occur in men from forty years of age and older. Persons living in areas with adverse environmental conditions have a high risk of developing pathology.

What causes the disease?

Today, experts cannot accurately answer the question of why tumors of this organ arise. However, as factors that can provoke a pathological process, doctors call the following:

1. Regular use of hormone-containing drugs.
2. Hereditary predisposition.
3. The use of narcotic substances.
4. Smoking.
5. Abuse of drinks containing ethanol.
   
6. Parasitic infestations (schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis).
7. Violation of metabolic processes associated with a lack of thyroid hormones or diabetes.
8. The formation of polyps in the large intestine.
9. Infection with hepatitis viruses type B and C.
10. Long-term effects on the body of harmful chemical compounds.
11. Eating foods containing toxic molds.
12. Excess animal lipids in the diet.
13. Infectious pathologies of a chronic nature.

Cirrhosis - an ailment that occurs as a result of prolonged and uncontrolled drinking of alcohol, is one of the most common causes of the development of liver tumors. Damage to organ tissues and a change in its structure leads to mutations in the cells. In 80-85% of patients suffering from this pathology, a malignant lesion occurs.

Symptomatology

At the initial stages of the development of neoplasms in the liver, a person does not feel significant changes in health. This is because tumors are characterized by slow growth. However, if the organ is greatly enlarged (in the case of hepatomegaly), the patient may experience internal bleeding in the peritoneum.

Benign neoplasms of the liver, having reached a large size, lead to the appearance of the following symptoms:

1. Feeling nauseous.
2. Frequent bouts of burping.
3. Discomfort in the hypochondrium on the right side.
4. Feeling overwhelmed.
5. Decrease in appetite, rise in temperature.
   

Due to the fact that at the early stages of the development of the disease the symptoms of neoplasm in the liver go unnoticed, the disease can progress and provoke the following complications:

1. Internal bleeding in the peritoneal region, leading to death.
2. Blockage of the bile ducts.

Some neoplasms (e.g. adenomas) can be easily detected by palpation. The patient is uncomfortable with light pressure on the hypochondrium on the right side.

Cancer Symptoms

In the case of the development of oncological pathology in humans, the same signs appear that occur with benign lesions (a feeling of nausea and bouts of vomiting, loss of appetite, and so on). Other manifestations also indicate malignant pathology, for example:

1. Constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
2. A significant decrease in body weight (indicates the onset of metastasis).
3. Decreased ability to work.

With a malignant neoplasm of the liver, the clinical picture is characterized by a variety of symptoms. Sometimes the pathology disguises itself as a disease of other organs (brain, heart muscle, lungs). Signs of intoxication, jaundice of a mechanical type are characteristic of liver activity disorders.

The main categories of neoplasms

Tumors of this organ are divided into several types:

1. Primary benign.
2. Oncological pathologies. Malignant tumors of the liver, in turn, are divided into two types. These are primary and secondary neoplasms.

Knowledge of all types of pathologies allows for accurate diagnosis and timely initiation of therapy with effective agents.

Benign tumors

So what does a tumor in the liver mean?

This group includes several types of pathologies. These are various tumors that form from the epithelium, connective tissue, and bile ducts.

The most common type of benign neoplasm of the liver is adenoma. Such a pathology is divided into several types. Hepatoadenomas, papillomatosis, biliary cystadenomas are found. Mesodermal tumors include lymphagiomas and hemangiomas. They are formed from lymphatic and blood vessels. In exceptional cases, hamartomas, lipomas and fibromas are diagnosed. Some experts classify cysts of nonparasitic origin as neoplasms of the organ.

Adenomas

Tumors of this type are rounded, grayish or dark red in color. The volume of these neoplasms on the liver in humans can be either small or rather large. Adenomas are usually located in the parenchyma or under the capsule of the organ. The structure of the tumors is spongy, cavernous. Neoplasms are formed from the network of blood vessels of the liver. Adenomas are divided into two groups:

1. Cavernoma.
2. Cavernous hemangioma.

Many experts classify such neoplasms not as tumors, but as vascular anomalies that form even before birth.

Biliary lesions

Their cause is nodular hyperplasia. Such a tumor is characterized by a red or pink tinge, a non-smooth texture. This is a fairly dense tumor. In some patients, it transforms into cancer.

Hemangiomas

Such a tumor is formed from an accumulation of blood vessels in an organ. Its sizes vary from 2 mm to 20 cm. The surface of hemangiomas can be uneven or flat. The hue of the tumor is significantly different from the color of the surrounding tissue. It has a bluish-red tint. Such a neoplasm in the right lobe of the liver is much more common than in the left.

Hemangioma occurs in patients of any age group. However, in most cases, it is diagnosed in people from 30 to 50 years old. In young women, the tumor, as a rule, has large sizes. Scientists have identified a relationship between the occurrence of these benign tumors in the liver and the use of contraceptives containing hormones.

Hemangiomas are often found in very young children. Sometimes they are formed in the process of fetal development. Factors affecting their formation at an early age have not yet been elucidated. Perhaps such neoplasms are associated with hamartoma (a tissue defect).

Complication

Unlike oncological pathologies, benign tumors do not pose an immediate threat to the patient's life. They are characterized by slow growth, rarely transform into cancer and do not lead to a significant deterioration. But this does not mean that a person with such a disease should not consult a specialist.

Large neoplasms in the liver that can cause complications. For example, in patients with hemangioma or adenoma there is a probability of a violation of the integrity of the tumor, bleeding in the peritoneum and bile ducts. Large cysts can lead to suppuration, the occurrence of jaundice.

With nodular hyperplasia, tears rarely occur, but such complications are not excluded.

Diagnosis and therapy

In case of suspicion of the development of this pathology, the specialist prescribes the following measures to the patient:

1. CT scan.
2. Assessment of the state of the organ using ultrasound.
3. The study of blood vessels of the liver.
4. Laparoscopy and tissue biopsy.

Focal neoplasms in the liver of a benign nature can transform into cancer and lead to complications. Given these circumstances, the main tactic of treatment is the operation to remove them.

The volume of the procedure is determined by the location of the tumor and its size. For example, with a neoplasm in the right lobe of the liver, which is large, they make a resection of this part of the organ. In some cases, operations are performed using a laparoscope. With a cyst, excision, drainage (open or endoscopic) is recommended.

Other methods of treating neoplasms include:

1. Immunotherapy This is an introduction to the tumor area of ​​drugs that impede its growth.
2. Injection of alcohol into the affected tissue. This method is used with a small volume of neoplasm.
3. Chemotherapy. Usually spend several courses of such treatment.

Malignant liver damage

These pathologies are divided into several types:

1. Hepatocellular carcinoma. A very rare type of cancer, for early detection of which screening diagnostics of people at risk (carriers of hepatitis B or C viruses, patients with cirrhosis) is carried out.
2. Cholangiocellular cancer. Associated with a mutation of cells covering the bile ducts. Pathology does not make itself felt for a long time. It usually manifests itself in the later stages, when the operation will no longer help the patient.
3. Cystadenocarcinoma. It occurs more often in persons of the weaker sex than in men. The structure of the tumor is similar to a cyst. It is accompanied by weight loss and discomfort in the lower part of the peritoneum. The tumor grows rapidly and compresses other organs.
4. Fibrolamellar carcinoma. It occurs more often at a young age. It manifests discomfort in the right hypochondrium.
5. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. It develops slowly, but in the absence of therapy gives metastases to other organs.
6. Hepatoblastoma. It occurs only in children under the age of 4 years, its symptoms are an increase in the volume of the peritoneum, weight loss and accelerated puberty due to hormonal failure.
7. Angiosarcoma. Diagnosed, as a rule, in the elderly. Associated with exposure to chemicals. It is developing rapidly.
   
8. Undifferentiated sarcoma. It occurs in pediatric patients, characterized by a severe course with an increase in body temperature and blood glucose.

Malignant neoplasms in the liver in the later stages have pronounced symptoms. A person has discomfort in the hypochondrium on the right, swelling of the abdominal cavity and vasodilation on the abdomen, disturbances in the digestive tract. The skin turns yellow, bleeding from the intestines and stomach is observed. With palpation of the organ, the doctor can detect a seal.

Diagnosis and therapy

In case of suspected pathology, the following medical procedures are performed:

1. Inspection and assessment of the external condition of the patient.
2. Laboratory analyzes of biological material.
   
3. Ultrasonography. Neoplasm in the liver by ultrasound, both benign and malignant, is easy to determine.
4. Puncture and biopsy of organ tissues.

Proper diagnosis allows not only to identify the tumor, but also to establish at what stage of development the pathology is.

The main way to treat malignant neoplasms of the liver is surgery. This method allows the patient to live much longer. Such a procedure should be carried out in a specialized surgical center. In the presence of a small neoplasm, the part of the organ in which it is located is removed. If a large tumor is detected, large volumes of the liver are resected, but its function remains intact.

Unfortunately, specialists working in many general medical centers consider patients suffering from this pathology incurable. But today, this approach is wrong. Thanks to effective methods of therapy, about 40% of patients live more than five years.