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What Are Liver Tumors?
What Are the Symptoms of Liver Tumors?
How Do You Diagnose Liver Tumors?
How Do You Treat Liver Tumors?
What Are Liver Tumors?
Liver tumors result from a mutation or mistake in gene development that causes liver cells to multiply at an abnormally fast rate and form a tumor. These faulty liver cells are not regulated like healthy cells. This means they do not function together with the liver and, instead, hinder its function.
What are the types of liver tumors?
Liver tumors tend to be rare in children. While there are many different types of tumors, two of the most frequent are hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Hepatoblastoma — The most common type of liver cancer in children. This type of tumor typically occurs in infants through about 3 years of age. This tumor has the potential to spread, commonly to the lungs.
- Hepatocellular carcinoma — This less common tumor typically occurs in older children. Hepatocellular cancer often spreads to other parts of the body.
How common are liver tumors?
Tumors originating in the liver account for 1% to 2% of all childhood cancers.
While liver tumors remain rare in children, the occurrence of hepatoblastoma has more than doubled since the 1980s. Although their cause is still unknown, their increase may be related to recently improved survival rates among underweight, premature babies. These conditions are known to be linked with the occurrence of hepatoblastoma.
What causes liver tumors?
Liver tumors are linked to genetic mutations that cause abnormal and unnecessary growth of tissue, resulting in a tumor. These same conditions can create tumors in other organs of the body as well. Liver tumors have the potential to spread to other organs.
What are liver tumor risk factors and complications?
Certain conditions and syndromes have been linked to an increased chance of hepatoblastoma. However, the direct cause of liver cancer is still unknown.
Liver tumor risk factors
Several associated disorders can be linked to liver tumors.
These include:
- Aicardi syndrome — A condition found exclusively in females. It causes nerve development failure and brain, eye, or spine defects.
- Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome — This condition may be caused by familial genetic variance. It increases the risk of hepatoblastoma by 1,000 to 10,000 times.
- Familial adenomatous polyposis — A disease that affects the APC gene and can lead to polyps and colon cancer.
- Hepatitis B and C — These conditions can increase the risk of liver cancer. Hepatitis B can be vaccinated against, even in infancy. No cure exists for hepatitis C.
- Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome — This condition occurs primarily in males and affects several parts of the body. It commonly appears as facial feature abnormalities, skeletal anomalies, and birth anomalies, such as an umbilical hernia.
- Trisomy 18 – This condition, also called Edwards syndrome, is caused by a duplicate copy of chromosome 18. It affects how your child grows and develops. It may result in heart and lung abnormalities and hand and foot malformations.
Complications of liver tumors
Left undiagnosed or untreated, liver tumors can dramatically impact the liver’s ability to function properly. A poorly functioning liver can lead to many other health complications and even death.
How can I reduce my child’s risk of liver tumors?
Children who have any of the conditions listed above should be screened regularly for liver tumors. If your child has one of these conditions, it is recommended that they be screened every three months from ages 3 to 5 to ensure any growth is caught early enough to intervene. Patients without a known condition are generally not screened by pediatricians for liver tumors.
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What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Liver Tumors?
If your child is experiencing a liver tumor, they may show signs of complications in their liver function. The liver is a key filter of the blood and producer of bile for digestion.
Without these essential functions of the liver, your child may experience:
- Fatigue and weakness.
- Jaundice (yellow skin, eyes, and gums).
- Light-colored stools.
- Loss of appetite.
- Swollen abdominal area.
When should I see a doctor about my child’s liver tumor symptoms?
If your child is experiencing any of the signs of a failing liver listed above, you should contact your child’s doctor immediately. They will recognize the signs of liver problems and can connect you with specialized doctors to test for and treat liver tumors.
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How Do You Diagnose a Liver Tumor?
The only way for doctors to verify the presence of a liver tumor is to run tests and imaging screenings on your child.
Liver tumors produce alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the bloodstream. Your child’s blood will be tested for elevated AFP levels and other liver functions.
Imaging, which may include ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI, is an effective option for detecting liver tumors. If imaging is concerning for a tumor, a biopsy or sampling of the tumor is needed to make a diagnosis.
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How Do You Treat Liver Tumors?
The goal of liver tumor treatment is to remove the tumor so it doesn’t interfere with the liver’s ability to function.
There are a few effective options:
- Chemotherapy — Chemotherapy is often used before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor to allow for its removal. Chemotherapy is also often used after surgery to prevent the tumor from coming back.
- Liver transplant — Certain liver tumors will be too large or too likely to have recurrent growth. In those cases, the liver is removed and replaced with a healthy liver from a deceased donor or a part of a liver from a living donor.
- Surgical removal — Surgery is the standard procedure for treating a liver tumor. Chemotherapy is often combined with surgery to shrink the size of the tumor before removal.
How effective is treatment?
Surgical removal can be very effective in eliminating the tumor, but it cannot always ensure that the tumor will not grow again.
Factors that impact treatment effectiveness include:
- Size — Larger tumors may require chemotherapy to reduce them until they’re safe to remove surgically.
- Stage — As with many cancers, stages I and II are easier to cure. The earlier the tumor is detected, the better the chance of removal and treatment.
- Type — Hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular tumors will have different treatment plans.
How long does it take to recover after treatment for liver tumors?
Recovery from surgery can take a few days in the hospital for surgery and postoperative monitoring. The long-term recovery relies on whether the cancer grows again. Your child may still need to undergo more screening to track the progress of recovery and to ensure no new tumor growth.
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Why Choose UPMC Children’s for Liver Tumor Care?
At UPMC Children’s Hospital, every child diagnosed with a liver tumor receives an individualized treatment plan and family-centered care.
- Our surgical team works closely with a multidisciplinary team including oncologists, bone marrow transplant physicians, and radiation oncologists to determine the best plan.
- Cutting-edge research and the latest technology ensure our patients' best possible outcomes.
Learn how to make an appointment with a surgeon at UPMC Children’s.
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By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-11-24.
