Liver Cancer Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Methods

What is liver cancer?

As it is known, the liver is the organ responsible for filtering the blood flowing in the body, so, it is very easy for cancer cells to reach the liver since the blood flowing through the body constantly passes through it. Accordingly, a person can develop one of the two types of liver cancer, (primary liver cancer) that occurs directly in the liver cells themselves, which causes the growth and spread of unhealthy cells in the liver, the increase of which leads to cancerous tumors, or (metastatic liver cancer) that occurs It is elsewhere in the body and then travels to the liver. According to scientific studies, in most cases, liver cancer is secondary (metastatic), meaning that the tumor begins somewhere else in the body and then moves to the liver. As for primary liver cancer, it is rare and the incidence of men with it is double compared to women.

What are the causes of liver cancer?

There are many causes and risk factors for liver cancer, which we present to you as follows:

• Having a liver disease, such as hepatitis C or type B, cirrhosis and others
• People with diabetes are more likely to get liver cancer.
• Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages is also one of the causes of injury, especially when combined with smoking.
• Exposure to alpha toxin. Alpha toxins are toxins that grow on poorly stored agricultural crops.
• Some chemicals, such as vinyl chloride and arsenic.
• Congenital malformation of the liver
• Overweight and obesity

What is the difference between liver cancer and benign liver tumors?

How can you distinguish between a malignant tumor and a benign tumor in the liver? Knowing the answer to this question, may shorten the patient a lot of effort and psychological fatigue. There are some basic differences between tumors caused by liver cancer and benign tumors, which we present to you as follows:

Spreading, benign tumors that appear in the liver do not have the ability to spread to other areas of the body, while cancerous tumors do.

The danger, despite the symptoms caused by benign tumors as a result of their pressure on the neighboring organs, they are not dangerous and do not cause death. Malignant tumors due to their spread in the body can cause death.

Treatment, by performing a surgical procedure, it is possible to eradicate benign tumors and recover completely, as for malignant tumors, their treatment depends mainly on chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

What are the symptoms of liver cancer?

In most cases, depending on the cause of liver cancer, the symptoms do not appear directly, but begin to appear in the advanced stages of infection. Here are the main symptoms:

• Anorexia.
• Unexplained weight loss.
• Feeling of fatigue, weakness and general fatigue.
• Feeling pain in the upper right area of the abdomen or back and shoulder.
• Yellowing of the skin and eyes.
• Feeling of flu symptoms.

Is liver cancer fatal?

The chances of a full recovery from liver cancer are great and reach 90% if the infection is detected and diagnosed early, but in the case of an outbreak of the disease and the spread of malignant tumors and cancer cells in different parts of the body, then the cure rate drops to 10% and becomes The patient's loss of life is very likely to occur.

What are the ways to treat liver cancer?

The method of treating the liver depends on several factors, most notably:

Liver condition.
Size, location and number of neoplastic nodes.
The degree of spread of the disease and its transmission outside the liver.
The patient's general health condition and age.

According to these factors, the most appropriate treatment method for the patient is determined, which is divided into the following types:

Surgical treatment: the malignant tumor is removed through a surgical intervention. In this method of treatment, the possibility of a complete recovery of the patient is very high in the case of early detection of the disease.

Radiation therapy: Due to the liver's poor ability to tolerate radiation, this method is used in a limited manner and helps reduce the tumor and relieve symptoms and pain.

Chemotherapy: In some cases, chemotherapy helps reduce the size of the tumor, which in turn helps to remove the tumor surgically easier and with a more guaranteed result.

Cryotherapy: In this method, the tumor is frozen and cauterized by radio waves in order to get rid of the tumor. This treatment method may benefit in some cases of the disease.

Liver transplantation: It is a treatment method that is applied if the patient has both liver cancer and cirrhosis. This method is considered dangerous, but it also gives great chances for a complete recovery from the disease.

What are the main ways to prevent liver cancer?

• Try to adhere to periodic checks on the health of the liver.
• Taking hepatitis C vaccinations.
• Avoid excessive alcohol consumption.
• Quit Smoking.
• Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising.

If you suffer or suspect you have liver cancer and are looking for treatment or want to know more and inquire more about the disease, do not hesitate to contact our specialized medical staff at WorldHealth.