Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary cancer arising from liver cells, often in the setting of chronic liver disease or cirrhosis.
When to get help quickly: Urgent review is more important if symptoms worsen quickly, jaundice appears, abdominal swelling is increasing, or bleeding or severe pain develops.
Common symptoms
Some people have no symptoms at first, while others develop weight loss, abdominal pain, swelling, jaundice, tiredness, or a general decline in wellbeing.
When imaging helps
Imaging helps detect suspicious liver lesions, assess whether the tumor is confined to the liver, and determine which treatments may be possible.
What radiology does
Ultrasound, CT, and MRI are central to detection, characterization, staging, and treatment follow-up.
What usually happens next
Management may include surgery, transplantation assessment, embolization, ablation, systemic therapy, or palliative care depending on stage and liver function.
Seen this on your report?
Your doctor or the radiologist who wrote it can tell you what it means for you.
Related scan guides
- Liver MRI with Hepatobiliary ContrastA Liver MRI with hepatobiliary contrast is a detailed scan that uses a special dye taken up by liver cells. It can provide highly detailed test for characterising liver lesions and is often used to confirm or rule out liver cancer without a biopsy.
- Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE)TACE delivers a powerful one-two punch to liver tumors — sending chemotherapy directly into the tumor and then blocking its blood supply to trap the medicine inside and starve the tumor of oxygen.