Liver Hemangioma

Since most don’t cause symptoms, most are diagnosed incidentally. They may appear on an imaging test taken for another reason. Imaging tests that can identify a liver hemangioma include:

• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound. High-frequency sound waves are sent through body tissues and the echoes are recorded and transformed into video or photos.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan. X-rays and computers produce images of a cross-section of your body.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A large magnet, radio waves and a computer produce images.
• X-ray contrast to look at the blood vessels in your body.
• A nuclear liver scan that uses a radioactive trace material called Technetium-99m to form an image of the hemangioma.

How can they tell if I have a liver hemangioma vs. cancer?

Most of the time, imaging tests are enough to tell the two apart. But if your hemangioma doesn’t have the typical features, they may need to investigate further to distinguish it from liver cancer. For example, a cancerous tumor of the liver (hepatocellular carcinoma) would typically change its appearance over time, while a hemangioma would remain stable. A metastatic cancer that spread to your liver from somewhere else would also be found elsewhere in your body.