Liver tumors

1. Big picture

A liver tumor may be benign, primary malignant, or metastatic. In adults, the most common malignant tumors found in the liver are metastases, but the most important primary malignant liver tumor for internal medicine exams is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The examiner usually wants you to think:

Cirrhotic liver + new focal lesion + elevated/normal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) → HCC until proven otherwise.

High-yield division:

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