Is cancer that spread to the liver the same as liver cancer?

No. Cancer that forms in another part of the body and then spreads to the liver is not called primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the liver itself.

This difference matters because doctors describe cancer by where it first started. Primary liver cancer begins in the liver, while cancer that spreads to the liver from another organ is named for the place where it first formed.

If you have questions about where your cancer started, your healthcare team is the best source of information.