Liver hemangioma is a noncancerous mass that occurs in the liver. A liver hemangioma is made up of a tangle of blood vessels. Liver hemangioma is sometimes called hepatic hemangioma or cavernous hemangioma.
Most cases of liver hemangioma are discovered during a test or procedure for some other condition. Most people who have a liver hemangioma never experience signs and symptoms and don’t need treatment.
It may be unsettling to know you have a mass in your liver, even if it’s a benign mass. There’s no evidence that an untreated liver hemangioma can lead to liver cancer.
In most cases, liver hemangioma doesn’t cause any signs or symptoms.
When a liver hemangioma causes signs and symptoms, they may include:
- Pain in the upper right abdomen
- Feeling full after eating only a small amount of food
- Lack of appetite
- Nausea
- Vomiting
However, these symptoms are nonspecific and may be due to something else, even if you have a liver hemangioma.
It’s not clear what causes a liver hemangioma to form. Doctors believe liver hemangioma is congenital — meaning that you’re born with it.
Liver hemangioma usually occurs as a single abnormal collection of blood vessels that is less than about 1.5 inches (about 4 centimeters) wide. Occasionally liver hemangiomas can be larger or occur in multiples.
In most people, liver hemangioma will never grow and never cause any signs and symptoms. But in a small number of people, liver hemangioma will grow to cause complications and require treatment. It’s not clear why this happens.
Factors that can increase the risk that liver hemangioma will cause signs and symptoms include:
- Your age. Liver hemangioma can be diagnosed at any age, but it’s most commonly diagnosed in people ages 30 to 50.
- Your sex. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with liver hemangioma than men are.
- Women who have been pregnant are more likely to be diagnosed with a liver hemangioma than women who have never been pregnant. It’s believed the hormone estrogen, which rises during pregnancy, may play a role in liver hemangioma growth.
- Hormone replacement therapy. Women who used hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms may be more likely to be diagnosed with liver hemangioma than women who did not.
Complications that occur during pregnancy
Women who have been diagnosed with liver hemangioma face a risk of complications if they become pregnant. The female hormone estrogen, which increases during pregnancy, is believed to cause some liver hemangiomas to grow larger. A growing hemangioma can cause signs and symptoms and may require treatment.
Having a liver hemangioma doesn’t mean you can’t become pregnant. However, discussing the possible complications with your doctor can help you make a more informed choice.
Medications that affect hormone levels in your body, such as birth control pills, could cause complications if you’ve been diagnosed with liver hemangioma. But this is controversial. If you’re considering this type of medication, discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor.
Tests and procedures used to diagnose liver hemangioma include:
- Ultrasound
- Computerized tomography scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging
- Single-photon emission computerized tomography scan
Other tests and procedures may be used depending on your situation.
Most people don’t need treatment
If your liver hemangioma is small and doesn’t cause any signs or symptoms, you won’t need treatment. While you may be worried about leaving a liver mass untreated, in most cases a liver hemangioma will never grow and will never cause problems.
Your doctor may schedule follow-up exams to check your liver hemangioma periodically for growth if the hemangioma is large.
If a liver hemangioma grows large enough to push on nearby structures in your abdomen, it can cause signs and symptoms and may signal that you need treatment. Liver hemangioma treatment depends on your situation, such as the location and size of the hemangioma, whether you have more than one hemangioma, your overall health, and your preferences.
Treatment options may include:
- Surgery to remove the liver hemangioma. If the hemangioma can be easily separated from the liver, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the mass.
- Surgery to remove part of the liver, including the hemangioma. In some cases, surgeons may need to remove a portion of your liver along with the hemangioma.
- Procedures to stop blood flow to the hemangioma. Without a blood supply, the hemangioma may stop growing or shrink. Two ways to stop the blood flow are tying off the main artery (hepatic artery ligation) or injecting medication into the artery to block it (arterial embolization).
The healthy liver tissue is unharmed because it can draw blood from other nearby vessels.
- Liver transplant surgery. In very rare situations, if you have a very large hemangioma or multiple hemangiomas that can’t be treated by other means, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove your liver and replace it with a liver from a donor.
- Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams, such as X-rays, to damage the cells of the hemangioma. This treatment is rarely used.