Other Malignant Tumors of the Liver

Abstract

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is the most common primary liver cancer except hepatocellular carcinoma. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas can be classified into three types by morphology: mass-forming type, periductal infiltrative type, and intraductal papillary growth type. Mass-forming type is the most common and periductal infiltrative type is known to show the worst prognosis. Imaging findings of mass-forming-type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma overlap those of metastases of adenocarcinoma from gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, careful evaluation for the primary tumors other than liver cancer should be performed to diagnose cholangiocarcinoma. Biliary cystadenocarcinoma, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, and sarcomas are rare malignant tumors of the liver. Unusual hepatic sarcomas frequently show large, solitary masses with central necrosis. Hepatic metastasis is the most common malignant tumor of non-cirrhotic liver. Accurate diagnosis of hepatic metastases gains more and more attention because complete resection or ablation of metastases has been proved to be effective for prolonging overall survival in some malignancies including colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine carcinomas. Hepatic metastases have various imaging features and resemble the imaging findings of the primary tumors. MRI was a problem-solving tool; however, it plays more important roles now and is superior to MDCT in terms of diagnostic performance for hepatic metastases. Liver is one of the most commonly involved organs of lymphomas, and majority of the cases are secondary lymphoma. Hepatic lymphomas can be divided into three groups by their appearance: large solitary masses, multiple nodules, and diffuse infiltrative type.