Hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor arising from hepatocytes, the main functional cells of the liver. It is the most common primary liver cancer.

Hepatocarcinogenesis: The multistep development of liver cancer from normal liver tissue through precancerous changes to malignancy. Chronic injury can drive the sequence of cellular changes that produces this cancer.
Hepatocyte: The principal metabolic cell of the liver, responsible for functions including protein synthesis and detoxification. These are the cells from which hepatocellular carcinoma arises.
Liver cancer screening: Testing people at elevated risk for liver cancer before symptoms appear. Surveillance can detect tumors earlier in people with cirrhosis or other major risk factors.
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A primary liver cancer arising from bile-duct epithelial cells within the liver. It is another major primary liver cancer, but originates in bile ducts rather than hepatocytes.
Hepatitis B vaccine: A vaccine that prevents infection with hepatitis B virus. Vaccination reduces a major preventable cause of this cancer worldwide.
Cirrhosis: Advanced liver scarring that disrupts normal tissue structure and can impair liver function. Most cases develop in livers already damaged by cirrhosis.
Liver: A large organ that performs metabolism, produces bile, stores nutrients, and processes substances carried in blood. The organ’s structure and function explain many symptoms and treatment constraints.
LI-RADS: A standardized system for interpreting and reporting liver imaging in people at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. It organizes imaging findings into categories that guide diagnosis and follow-up.
Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma: A primary liver cancer containing both hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma features in the same tumor. Its mixed cellular identity distinguishes it from a purely hepatocellular tumor.
Hepatitis C treatment: Antiviral therapy that cures hepatitis C infection in most treated people. Curing infection lowers future cancer risk, though established cirrhosis can leave risk elevated.

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