In 50% of all cases the primary tumor is of the gastrointestinal tract; other common sites include the breast, ovaries, bronchus and kidney.

Treatment can consist of surgery (hepatectomy), chemotherapy and/or therapies specifically aimed at the liver like radiofrequency ablation, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, selective internal radiation therapy and irreversible electroporation.

For most patients no effective treatment exists because both lobes are usually involved, making surgical resection impossible.

Younger patients with metastases from colorectal cancer confined to one lobe of the liver and up to 4 in number may be treated by partial hepatectomy.

A careful search for other metastases is required, including local recurrence of the original primary tumor (e.g., via colonoscopy) and dissemination elsewhere (e.g., via CT of the thorax).