Benign tumor in liver

Benign liver tumors

Benign liver tumors are not so rare, but the fact is that they usually cannot be diagnosed without an ultrasound or some other scan because they rarely manifest through some symptoms. When they do, hepatomegaly or discomfort in the upper right quadrant are the main signs. Their presence does not affect the results of the liver function tests, which makes it even harder to notice it. These non-cancerous growths do not have the tendency to spread to other parts of the body, and they do not pose a threat to the health of an individual, except in particular circumstances.

Types of benign liver tumors

There are several types of benign liver tumors and all of them have different characteristics, but those that occur most frequently are hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia and hepatocellular adenoma.

Hemangioma is definitely the most frequently diagnosed benign liver tumor, and women are more susceptible to developing it than men. They are nothing else but a mass of blood vessels that are abnormal, and they usually do not cause symptoms. The treatment is generally not required, but in some cases when an infant develops it, the surgery might be needed in order to prevent blood clots and consequences that they might provoke. Focal nodular hyperplasia is also a very common type of benign liver tumors, and women between 20 and 30 are at higher risk of developing it. Generally, the treatment is only needed when they are too large, because in such cases, they need to be removed just to be sure that the rupture does not happen. Otherwise, no treatment is necessary and they do not cause any symptoms or problems. Hepatocellular adenoma is not that common type, but it affects mostly women who are in their childbearing age. According to some studies, the use of oral contraceptives that contain higher amounts of estrogen is closely related to their development. Just like the greatest majority of benign liver tumors, this type rarely causes any symptoms, and it can be detected either when some imaging tests are done, or when they rupture. The doctors might suggest their removal as a method of prevention of this possibility, but if they are not large, there is no need for a surgery. Lipoma is also a type of benign tumor that can be present in liver, but it occurs even more rarely than previously mentioned types.