Pediatric hepatoblastoma (liver cancer)

What is pediatric hepatoblastoma (liver cancer)?

The most common liver tumor in children is hepatoblastoma, but it only happens in about one in a million children.

Other liver tumors found in children include:

• Hepatocellular carcinomas

• Mesenchymal hamartomas (usually benign)

• Sarcomas

How is pediatric hepatoblastoma (liver cancer) treated?

• Surgery and chemotherapy - In general, curing these tumors requires complete surgical removal combined with appropriate chemotherapy if the tumor is malignant. The ability to remove the tumor depends on its position in the liver and whether it involves critical blood vessels and bile ducts.

• Liver Transplant - Some patients with unresectable liver tumors will require a liver transplant.