LIVER
CANCER
Liver cancer is the cancer that starts in the cells of your liver. Your
liver is a football-sized organ that assembles in the upper right part of
abdomen, beneath your diaphragm and above your stomach.
Numerous types of cancer can formulate in the liver from which the most
common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in the
main type of liver cell (hepatocyte). Other types of liver cancer, such as
intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma, are very uncommon.
TYPES:
1.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is very common type of primary
liver cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma occurs mainly in people with chronic
liver diseases, such as cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B or hepatitis C
infection.
2.
Cholangiocarcinoma
Cholangiocarcinoma is cancer that creates in the bile duct, that carry
the digestive fluid bile. It connects your liver to your gallbladder and to
your small intestine. This condition, also known as bile duct cancer, is an
uncommon form of cancer that occurs mostly in people older than age 50, though
it can occur at any age.
SYMPTOMS:
· Jaundice
· Penetratingly itchy
skin
· White-colored stools
· Fatigue
· Abdominal pain
· Unplanned weight loss
CAUSES:
It is not known what the roots of most cases of liver cancer are. But
in some cases, the cause is known. For example, chronic infection with certain
hepatitis viruses can cause liver cancer.
Liver cancer happens when liver cells develop changes in their DNA the
material that provides instructions for every chemical process in your body.
DNA mutations cause changes in these instructions. One result is that cells may
begin to grow out of control and eventually form a tumor which is a mass of
cancerous cells.
RISK FACTORS:
Elements that rise the risk of liver cancer contain:
·
Prolonged infection
with HBV or HCV. Prolonged
infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) rises
risk of liver cancer.
·
Cirrhosis. This enhancing and irretrievable condition causes scar
tissue to form in liver and spreads the possibilities of developing the liver
cancer.
·
Some inherited liver
diseases. Liver illness that
increase the risk of liver cancer.
·
Diabetes. People with this blood sugar condition have a greater
risk of liver cancer than those who don't have diabetes.
·
Fatty liver disease. The growth of fat in the liver upsurges the risk of
liver cancer.
·
Extreme alcohol
consumption. Drinking
more than an average amount of alcohol daily over many years can lead to liver
damage and increases the risk of liver cancer.
PREVENTION:
Decrease the
possibility of cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is marking of the liver, and it increases the risk of liver
cancer. You can decrease the risk of cirrhosis if you:
·
Drink alcohol in control, if at all.
·
Maintain good physical shape.
Get
vaccinated against hepatitis B
You can decrease your risk of hepatitis B by getting the hepatitis B
vaccine, which offers more than 90 percent security for both adults and children.
The vaccine can be given to everyone, to those with compromised immune systems.
Take steps to
prevent hepatitis C
No vaccination for hepatitis C subsists, but you can reduce your risk
of infection.
·
You should check the health status of any sexual
partner.
·
Do not use intravenous (IV) medication, but if you
have to do, then use a clean needle.
·
Look for a safe, clean shops when you get a piercing
or tattoo.
TEST AND
TREATMENT:
ANALYZE LIVER CANCER
Assessments and techniques used to diagnose liver cancer contain:
- Blood tests.
- Imaging tests.
- Taking out a sample of
liver tissue for testing.
SHAPING THE EXTENT OF CANCER
Once the liver cancer is diagnosed, your doctor will work to check the
stage of cancer. The stage tests helps to determine the size and location of
cancer and whether it has spread. The image tests like CT, MRI and bone scan
are used to get information about liver cancer stage.
TREATMENT:
Liver cancer
treatment options may include:
- Surgery to eliminate a part of the liver. In some cases, doctor may recommend fractional hepatectomy,
i.e. to remove the liver cancer and a small part of healthy tissue that
ambiances it if your tumor is small and your liver function is good.
- Liver transplant
surgery. During the surgery, your unhealthy liver is
removed and replaced with a healthy liver from a donor. Liver transplant
surgery is only recommended for a small percentage of patients with
early-stage liver cancer.
- Freezing cancer cells. Cryoablation uses extreme cold to destroy cancer cells. During
the procedure, your doctor puts an instrument comprising of liquid
nitrogen directly onto liver tumors. Ultrasound images are used to help
the cryoprobe and monitor the freezing of the cells.
- Heating cancer cells. In a practice which is called radiofrequency ablation, an
electric current is used to heat and damage the cancer cells. Using an
ultrasound or CT scan, your medical practitioner inserts one or more thin
needles into small cuts in your abdomen. When the needles reach the tumor,
they are heated with an electric current, destroying the cancer cells.
- Injecting alcohol into
the tumor. During alcohol injection, pure alcohol is
injected directly into tumors, either through the skin or during an
operation. Alcohol causes the tumor cells to die.
- Injecting chemotherapy
drugs into the liver. Chemotherapy treatment which
deliveries strong anti-cancer medicine directly to the liver. During the
process, chemotherapy drugs are injected into the hepatic artery and then
the artery is blocked. This helps to block the blood flow to the cancer
cells and to send chemotherapy drugs to the cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy. This treatment uses high-powered energy beams to destroy
cancer cells and shrink tumors. During the treatment, you lie down on a
table and a machine guides the energy beams at an exact point on your
body. Radiation therapy for liver cancer may involve a technique called
stereotactic radiosurgery that simultaneously emphases many beams of
radiation at one point in the body.
·
Targeted drug therapy. Targeted drugs work by hindering with a
tumor's ability to produce new blood vessels.
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