The liver, the organ of the human body larger without the skin, is located below the ribs on right side of the abdomen.

Its main functions include the filtration of blood and the elimination of toxic wastes and the production of enzymes that help digest food, converting them into substances needed for the proper functioning of the body. Some nutrients have to be chemically altered (metabolized) in the liver before the rest of the body can use as energy source. The liver produces some of the clotting factors that prevent the blood is too liquid and also secretes bile to the intestine to help absorb nutrients.

The liver is divided into three lobes, the right, the left and a smaller one called square, which in turn are subdivided into segments. Unlike most other organs of the body receives blood from two sources. The hepatic artery supplies the liver with blood rich in oxygen while the portal vein carries nutrient-rich blood from the intestines. All blood from the digestive tract through the liver before it reaches the rest of the body, making it a sort of ‘office’ from the outside world.

Liver cancers

Cancer occurs when normal cells change and begin to grow uncontrollably and form a mass called a tumor. A tumor can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous, meaning it can spread to other parts of the body).

Primary liver cancer is cancer that originates in the liver. More commonly, the liver is the site of metastasis (spread) of cancer that started somewhere else, like pancreatic cancer, colon, stomach, breast or lung. However, these are not primary liver cancer. For more information about cancer that originated elsewhere in the body and spread to the liver

Statistics

In 2009, it is estimated that approximately 22,620 adults (16,410 men and 6210 women) were diagnosed with primary liver cancer in the United States. It is estimated that this year the disease causes about 18,160 deaths (12,090 men and 6070 women). Liver cancer is also the sixth most common cause of cancer death in men and ninth in women.

Compared with the United States, liver cancer is much more common in developing countries of Africa and East Asia. In some countries is the most common type of cancer.

The relative survival rate five years (percentage of patients who survive at least five years after the cancer is detected, excluding those who die from other diseases) of patients with liver cancer is about 11%.

The statistics on cancer survival should be interpreted with caution. These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of this cancer, but the real risk of an individual may differ. It is not possible to tell how long a person live with liver cancer. Because the survival statistics are measured in intervals of five years may not represent advances made in the treatment or diagnosis of this cancer.