When talking about cancer of the liver it is very important to be clear about the difference between primary and secondary cancer.

A primary cancer is one which starts in a particular part of the body, a secondary cancer is one which spreads to that part of the body from a cancer elsewhere. Primary liver cancers are quite uncommon in the UK, with less than 1,000 new cases each year, making up fewer than 1 in every 100 cancers diagnosed.

There is no evidence that the risk of getting primary liver cancer can be inherited, or passed from one generation to the next. However, some cases of primary liver cancer are due to long term infection of the liver by the hepatitis B virus. Often people can be carriers of the virus without any obvious signs of liver infection or damage. If someone is a hepatitis B virus carrier, and has a first-degree relative (a parent or sibling) who is also a carrier who gets a primary liver cancer, then they are at greater risk of getting the cancer as well. So primary liver cancer is commoner in some families than others as a result of this.

Secondary liver cancer cannot be inherited. Some of the primary cancers than can lead to secondary liver cancer may be inherited. For example, about 1 in 10 breast cancers occurs as a result of inheriting damaged, or mutant, genes. But even when this happens it does not mean that someone who has inherited the genes that caused the cancer will go on to develop secondary liver cancer.