Liver Hemangioma

A liver hemangioma (hepatic hemangioma) is a noncancerous tumor in your liver. It’s made up of clumped, malformed blood vessels that are fed by the hepatic artery. Hemangioma tumors can occur in various organs, including the brain, where they can sometimes cause problems. In the liver, though, they rarely do. They don’t turn to cancer and only cause symptoms if they grow especially large.

What does a hemangioma in the liver mean?

Scientists aren’t sure why liver hemangiomas occur. If you get one, you can consider it an anomaly. Some think it might be a birth defect. It doesn’t indicate anything is wrong with your liver, and it generally won’t cause problems for your liver. Most people just get one hepatic hemangioma. It won’t spread and rarely grows in size. In most cases, you can leave it alone and go on with your life.

Should I be worried about a liver hemangioma?

Liver hemangiomas in adults and children are generally nothing to worry about. Only 10% of them ever grow at all, and your tumor would have to grow a lot before you would feel it compressing your stomach or vessels. Your healthcare provider will keep an eye on it and intervene before that happens. Infantile hepatic hemangioma (IHH), which affects babies, is a different entity and can follow a different course.

How common are liver hemangiomas?

Liver hemangiomas are the most common type of benign liver lesions. They occur in approximately 5% of the population. They most commonly appear in middle age (70%) and in people assigned female at birth (80%). When they occur in infancy, they normally shrink over time and disappear by adulthood.