Chennai: Liver cancers or tumors generally occur when the tumor arises from another organ such as colon, lung, intestine and spreads to the liver (metastasis).
However, there are instances of primary liver cancers, where the tumor grows from the organ itself and later spreads to other organs in the body, turning fatal if not diagnosed and treated in time.
Doctors at Kauvery Hospital said they have removed a tumor from the inferior vena cava (the largest vein in the body that passes through the liver), of a 56-year-old woman from Salem.
Speaking about the patient, Dr K Elankumaran, head of Liver Diseases Transplantation & Hepatobiliary Surgery, said, “the woman complained of indigestion and abdominal pain. When an ultrasound scan was done, a tumor was found, growing in a major vein, closely associated with the liver. This was a rare type, measuring 10*10 cms. It required immediate removal to avoid complications which otherwise might turn fatal.”
This kind of tumor is rare, and contributes to one in one lakh of adult cancers, he added.