Benign vs malignant: Benign tumors /neoplasms of the liver are not cancerous; malignant tumors are. See prior answer regarding differential for benign ones. Malignant tumors include: fibrolamellar carcinoma, hepatoblastoma, cholangiocarcinoma, cystadenocarcinoma, angiosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcomas, epitheliod endothelioma. Metastatic liver tumors originate elsewhere (frequently from stomach, breast, lung, colon).
Answered 10/26/2012
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A solid liver mass: If so stated, this is not a cyst. There are benign, non-spreading (not malignant) masses such as adenomas or focal nodular hyperplasia. Liver cancer or cancer from other area that is metastatic to the liver remain possibilities not yet exlcuded.
Answered 5/8/2019
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We are not sure: Sometimes imaging can be 100% accurate in diagnosing a liver lesion simply based on its appearance. However, this is not always the case. Some lesions have a non-specific appearance and may need further work up to diagnose. That work up may include more imaging, biopsy, or just continued surveillance (if we think the lesion is most likely benign).
Answered 6/19/2015
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Sometimes: liver lesions have a characteristic benign appearance, sometimes a characteristic malignant appearance. Other times the imaging features may overlap between the two, and either one is a possibility. Usually a biopsy will be necessary to make the determination.
Answered 4/28/2015
2.9k views
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