Can Lung Cancer Spread to the Liver?

Metastatic Lung Cancer and the Liver 

Unfortunately, the answer to the question, "Can lung cancer spread to the liver" is yes. In fact it often does, and many people who are diagnosed with lung cancer find out that they also have liver cancer at the same time.

To understand how this happens so often, it helps to know a little bit about how cancer works in the body.

As you're probably aware, cancer is caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division.

Primary cancer signifies where the cancer began. It can originate in any organ or tissue of the body. The original tumor is called the primary cancer, and it is named for the part of the body where abnormal cell division started.

Cancer that starts in the lungs might be described as primary lung cancer. Cancer that starts in the liver could be called primary liver cancer.

Secondary cancer means that cancerous cells have spread from the organ or tissue where they started to other places.

This process of spreading from one organ or tissue to another has a medical name: metastasis.

Metastatic liver cancer is cancer that started somewhere else in the body: possibly the lungs. Metastatic lung cancer means the cancer originated elsewhere: possibly the liver. Cancer that has spread from the lungs could be described metastatic lung cancer to the liver.

Metastatic cancers which start in a distant organ are also sometimes called distant diseases.

Symptoms of lung cancer that spreads to the liver Both types of cancer, lung and liver, do not present symptoms in the early stages. Lung cancer is often discovered accidentally when the patient is being tested for something else.

The first symptoms of metastatic liver cancer can include an enlarged liver, enlarged spleen, fever, weight loss and poor appetite. As the disease progresses, the area around the liver may become may be tender and/or lumpy.

By the time symptoms begin to appear, lung and liver cancers have often reached advanced stages--and they have also spread to other organs, or "metastasized."

Because the lungs and liver are so close together in the body, cancer in the lungs often spreads first to the liver, or vice-versa.

Treatment of lung cancer that has spread to the liver When the cancer is a primary cancer, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the tumor.

Surgery is also possible with metastasized cancers, but obviously it becomes more complicated when cancerous cells have spread beyond their origin.

In cases involving metastasis, treatment might include

• chemotherapy,
• radiation treatment,
• biological therapy,
• hormone therapy,
• cryosurgery, and
• surgery.

The patient's medical team might also recommend a combination of these therapies, depending on the type of primary cancer, the size and location of the metastasis, the patient’s age and general health, and so on.

Do you still want to learn more about lung and liver cancer by typing a relevant keyword or phrase in the search box below.

 

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