Liver metastases most often originate from which primary sites?

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Multiple Choice

Liver metastases most often originate from which primary sites?

Metastasis to the liver happens most often from primaries that shed tumor cells into the bloodstream and from sites whose cells readily lodge in the liver’s rich vascular network. The colon (GI tract) drains via the portal venous system directly to the liver, so colorectal cancer cells commonly seed hepatic metastases. Breast cancer spreads through the systemic circulation and frequently metastasizes to the liver as well. Lung cancer also disseminates via the bloodstream and commonly involves the liver as a metastatic site. Because these three primaries collectively account for the majority of liver metastases in practice, choosing all three as the source matches the typical pattern of hepatic metastatic disease. Other cancers can metastasize to the liver, but less commonly than these three.

Metastasis to the liver happens most often from primaries that shed tumor cells into the bloodstream and from sites whose cells readily lodge in the liver’s rich vascular network. The colon (GI tract) drains via the portal venous system directly to the liver, so colorectal cancer cells commonly seed hepatic metastases. Breast cancer spreads through the systemic circulation and frequently metastasizes to the liver as well. Lung cancer also disseminates via the bloodstream and commonly involves the liver as a metastatic site.

Because these three primaries collectively account for the majority of liver metastases in practice, choosing all three as the source matches the typical pattern of hepatic metastatic disease. Other cancers can metastasize to the liver, but less commonly than these three.

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