Liver cancer is cancer that starts in your liver cells. Your liver is a football-sized organ located in the upper right part of your abdomen, below your diaphragm and above your stomach.
Several types of cancer can develop in the liver. The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in the main cells of the liver (hepatocytes). Other types of liver cancer, such as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, are much less common.
Cancers that start in the liver are more common than those that spread to the liver. Cancer that starts in another part of the body, such as the colon, lung, or breast, and then spreads to the liver is called metastatic cancer rather than liver cancer. This type of cancer is named after the organ from which it originates—metastatic colon cancer describes cancer that starts in the colon and spreads to the liver.