Hepatocellular carcinoma may have different growth patterns. Some of them are spreading in the form of tentacles inside the liver, others begin as a single tumor that spreads to other parts of the liver as the disease develops, and others develop as nodules in several different places of the liver. Approximately 80% of primary adult liver cancers are hepatocellular carcinomas.
Cholangiocarcinoma
A cholangiocarcinoma develops in the cells of the bile ducts. The bile duct is a thin tube that extends from the liver to the small intestine. Approximately 10-20% of cases of primary liver cancer are cholangiocarcinomas.
Angiosarcoma
Angiosarcoma begins in the blood vessels of the liver and develops very rapidly. Approximately 1% of cases of primary liver cancer are angiosarcomas.
There are other types of liver cancer, called rare hepatic cancers: fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma and secondary hepatic cancer also called hepatic metastasis.
