UPMC Liver Cancer Center

Overview  |  Diagnosis  |  Treatment

Treatments for Benign Liver Masses

The UPMC Liver Cancer Center offers treatment for people with noncancerous liver masses or lesions, such as:

• hemangiomas
• hepatic adenomas
• focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH)
• hepatic cysts

Liver surgery (resection)

Depending on the size and location of the mass, and the general health of your liver, you may be a candidate for surgical removal of hemangiomas, adenomas, FNH, and hepatic cysts.

The main reasons for liver resection, either minimally invasive (laparoscopic) liver surgery or traditional (open) liver surgery, include:

• a benign liver mass that causes abdominal pain
• a diagnosis that is still in question after the evaluation

For hepatic adenomas, surgical removal is usually recommended because of the significant risk of spontaneous rupture with intraperitoneal bleeding and the risk of malignant transformation to a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

For hepatic cysts, treatment depends on the nature of the cyst. Symptoms also are taken into consideration. Definitive treatment is surgery, although simple cysts can occasionally be managed by aspiration, with or without sclerotherapy.

UPMC’s liver surgeons are among the most experienced in the United States at minimally invasive liver surgery, which is performed through three or four small incisions in the abdomen.

We perform this technique, whenever possible, to reduce:

• pain
• scarring
• length of hospital stay
• recovery time

Therapies for benign liver masses

If your tumor is too large to be removed by surgery, the UPMC Liver Cancer Center offers innovative therapies, such as radiofrequency ablation, to:

• help shrink the tumor by placing a probe through an incision in the body so tiny electrodes can destroy cancer cells with heat and surgery is possible
• manage your liver disease and extend your life

Learn more about liver cancer treatments at the UPMC Liver Cancer Center.