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 he alth. With its help, toxic substances are neutralized, they are removed from cells and tissues. Any violation of the liver negatively affects the well-being.
General characteristics of pathologies
There are several varieties of diseases of this organ. Neoplasms in the liver are a group of ailments that are benign or malignant. Tumors can be formed from the parenchyma, bile ducts or vessels. The following symptoms indicate the presence of an ailment:
- Feeling sick.
- Loss of appetite.
- Significant weight loss.
- Increasing the size of the organ.
- Yellow hue of the skin and whites of the eyes.
- Accumulation of fluid in the peritoneum.
Today there are many ways to diagnose tumors in the liver. After the specialist manages to establish the type of pathology, he will be able to make a decision about therapy. Treatment of patients with these diseases usually involves surgery. It consists in removing damaged parts of the organ.
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 signs. Primary cancer is considered a common disease. A secondary neoplasm of the liver is diagnosed in some patients suffering from malignant tumors in the stomach, mammary glands, lungs, and large intestine.
Neoplasms of a different nature can appear in a person of any gender and age group. However, they are especially common in men aged forty and older. Persons living in areas with unfavorable environmental conditions have a high risk of developing pathology.
What causes disease?
Today, experts cannot accurately answer the question of why tumors of this organ occur. However, as factors that can provoke a pathological process, doctors call the following:
- Regular use of drugs containing hormones.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- Using drugs.
- Smoking.
- Abuse of drinks containing ethanol.
- Parasitic invasions (schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis).
- Disruption of metabolic processes associated with a lack of thyroid hormones or diabetes mellitus.
- Formation of polyps in the large intestine.
- Infection with hepatitis B and C viruses.
- Long exposure to harmful chemical compounds.
- Eating foods containing poisonous molds.
- Excess of animal lipids in the diet.
- Infectious pathologies of a chronic nature.
Cirrhosis is a disease that occurs as a result of prolonged and uncontrolled drinking of alcohol, is one of the most common causes of liver tumors. Damage to the tissues of an organ 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.
Symptomatics
At the initial stages of the development of neoplasms in the liver, a person does not feel significant changes in well-being. This is due to the fact that 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 peritoneal region.
Benign neoplasms of the liver, which have reached a large size, lead tothe appearance of the following signs:
- Feeling sick.
- Frequent bouts of burping.
- Discomfort in the hypochondrium on the right side.
- Feeling broken.
- Decrease in appetite, rise in temperature.
Due to the fact that in the early stages of the development of the disease, the symptoms of a neoplasm in the liver go unnoticed, the disease can progress and provoke the following complications:
- Internal bleeding into the peritoneum, resulting in death.
- Bile duct blockage.
Some neoplasms (eg adenomas) can be easily detected by palpation. The patient experiences discomfort with light pressure on the hypochondrium on the right side.
Symptoms indicating cancer
In the case of the development of oncological pathology, a person has the same signs that occur with a benign lesion (a feeling of nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and so on). Other manifestations also indicate malignant pathology, for example:
- Permanent feeling of being broken.
- Significant weight loss (indicates the onset of metastases).
- Reduced ability to work.
With a malignant neoplasm of the liver, the clinical picture is characterized by a variety of symptoms. Sometimes the pathology is disguised as diseases of other organs (brain, heart muscle, lungs). For liver disorderscharacteristic signs of intoxication, mechanical jaundice.
Main categories of neoplasms
Tumors of this organ are divided into several types:
- Primary benign.
- 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 using effective means.
Benign tumors
So, what does a neoplasm in the liver mean?
This group includes several types of pathologies. These are various tumors that are formed from the epithelium, connective tissue, bile ducts.
The most common type of benign liver tumor is an adenoma. This pathology is divided into several types. There are hepatoadenomas, papillomatosis, biliary cystadenomas. 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 non-parasitic origin as neoplasms of the organ.
Adenomas
Tumors of this type are round, grayish or dark red. The volume of these neoplasms on the liver in humans can be both small and quite large. Adenomas are usually located in the parenchyma or under the organ capsule. The structure of tumors is spongy, cavernous. Neoplasms are formed from a network of blood vessels in the liver. Adenomas are divided into two groups:
- Cavernoma.
- Cavernous hemangioma.
Many experts classify such neoplasms not as tumors, but as vascular anomalies that form already before birth.
Biliary lesions
Their cause is believed to be nodular hyperplasia. Such a tumor is characterized by a red or pink tint, uneven texture. This is a fairly dense neoplasm. In some patients, it transforms into cancer.
Hemangiomas
Such a tumor is formed from the accumulation of blood vessels of the body. Its dimensions vary from 2 mm to 20 cm. The surface of hemangiomas may be uneven or flat. The shade of the tumor differs significantly from the color of the surrounding tissues. 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, is large. Scientists have identified a link 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 during fetal development. The factors influencing their formation at an early age have not yet been elucidated. It is possible that such neoplasms are associated with hamartoma(fabric 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 in the condition. But this does not mean that a person with such a disease should not see a specialist.
Neoplasms in the liver that have reached large volumes can cause complications. For example, in patients with hemangioma or adenoma, there is a possibility of a violation of the integrity of the tumor, bleeding into the peritoneum and bile ducts. Large cysts can lead to suppuration and jaundice.
Ruptures are rare in nodular hyperplasia, but complications are possible.
Diagnosis and therapy
If the development of this pathology is suspected, the specialist prescribes the following measures to the patient:
- Computed tomography.
- Assessment of the condition of the organ using ultrasound.
- Examination of the vessels of the liver.
- 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 treatment tactic is surgery 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, doresection of this part of the organ. In some cases, operations are performed using a laparoscope. When a cyst is recommended excision, drainage (open or endoscopic).
Other treatments for neoplasms include:
- Immunotherapy. This is the introduction of medications into the tumor area that prevent its growth.
- Injection of alcohol into affected tissues. This method is used with a small amount of neoplasm.
- Chemotherapy. Usually several courses of such treatment are carried out.
Malignant liver lesions
These pathologies are divided into several types:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma. A very rare type of cancer, for early detection of which screening is carried out for people at risk (carriers of hepatitis B or C viruses, patients with cirrhosis).
- Cholangiocellular cancer. Associated with a mutation in the cells that cover the bile ducts. Pathology does not make itself felt for a long time. It usually appears in the later stages, when the operation will no longer help the patient.
- Cystadenocarcinoma. It occurs more often in the weaker sex than in men. The structure of the neoplasm 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.
- Fibrolamellar carcinoma. It often occurs at a young age. Manifested by discomfort in the right hypochondrium.
- Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. Develops slowly, but in the absence of therapy gives metastases to otherorgans.
- Hepatoblastoma. 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.
- Angiosarcoma. It is usually diagnosed in the elderly. Associated with exposure to chemicals. Developing rapidly.
- Undifferentiated sarcoma. It occurs in pediatric patients, characterized by a severe course with an increase in body temperature and blood glucose levels.
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 in the abdomen, and disturbances in the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. The skin turns yellow, bleeding from the intestines and stomach is observed. On palpation of the organ, the doctor can detect a seal.
Diagnosis and therapy
If a pathology is suspected, the following medical procedures are performed:
- Examination and assessment of the external condition of the patient.
- Laboratory analyzes of biological material.
- Ultrasound. A neoplasm in the liver on ultrasound, both benign and malignant, is easy to determine.
- Puncture and biopsy of organ tissue.
Competent diagnostics allows not only to identify the tumor, but also to establish at what stage of development the pathology is.
The main way of treatmentliver neoplasms of a malignant nature is an operation. This method allows the patient to live much longer. This procedure should be carried out in a specialized surgical center. In the presence of a small neoplasm, the person is removed that part of the organ in which it is located. 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 to be incurable. But today this approach is wrong. Thanks to effective therapies, about 40% of patients live more than five years.
