Everything you need to know about liver cancer!

**What does the liver do?** **Before we discuss the issue of liver cancer, it is better to know what the functions of the liver are in the human body and what it does?** **The liver is an important organ in the human body. The liver is divided into parts called lobes and acts as a blood filter. This organ removes harmful substances from the blood, which are later removed from the body as waste products. The liver continuously filters the blood that circulates in the body and converts nutrients and drugs absorbed from the digestive system into chemicals ready for use.** Of course, liver is only one of the functions of the liver, and this important organ is also responsible for other similar functions: - **Making bile (a liquid that helps digest fat).** - **Digestion and storage of other nutrients in food, such as sugar, which are used as a source of energy.** - **Making various and useful materials for many functions of the body, such as materials needed for blood clotting.** - **Removing toxins and other chemical waste from the blood and preparing them for disposal**

**liver cancer** **Given that all blood flowing through the body must pass through the liver, this important organ is unusually accessible to cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream. In general, liver cancer either starts in the liver itself or spreads to the liver from other organs. Most liver cancer is secondary, or metastatic, meaning it started somewhere else in the body.** **The liver is made up of several different types of cells, that's why different types of tumors may develop in it, some of them are benign (non-cancerous) and some are cancerous and can spread to other parts of the body. These tumors have different causes and different treatments. The prospect of a person's health or recovery depends on the type of tumor.**

**What are the signs and symptoms of liver cancer?** **When liver cancer is in the early stages, a person may not have any symptoms. If a person's liver is swollen, they may notice the following symptoms:** - **Mass under the chest or pain in the right side of the abdomen or pain near the right shoulder.** - **Jaundice (a disease that causes yellowing of the skin and eyes).** - Unexplained weight loss, nausea or loss of appetite - **fatigue** - **dark colored urine** - **bloating.** **However, it should be remembered that liver cancer is only one of the causes of swollen liver.**

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**What causes liver cancer?** **Liver cancer may be caused by a person suffering from liver diseases such as hepatitis. Cirrhosis also increases the risk of developing this disease. However, some people who develop liver cancer have no other liver disease, and in many cases, the actual cause is unknown.** **But in general, the following can be mentioned among the causes of liver cancer:** - **creating primary liver cancer in damaged livers due to congenital defects** - **alcohol abuse** - **Chronic infection with diseases such as hepatitis B and C** - **Hemochromatosis (a hereditary disease associated with excessive iron content in the liver)** - **cirrhosis of the liver** **More than half of people with primary liver cancer have liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis of the liver is an ulcerated condition of the liver, usually caused by alcohol abuse. Hepatitis B and C and hemochromatosis can also cause permanent liver damage and failure. Also, obesity and fatty liver disease may also cause liver cancer.** Other factors that increase the risk of liver cancer include the following: - **Gender**: **Men are more prone to liver cancer than women.** - **Weight**: **Obesity can increase the risk of liver cancer.** - **Long-term use of anabolic steroids, male hormones that are abused by athletes to increase muscle mass, can increase the risk of liver cancer.** - **Diabetes History: Studies show that there is a connection between diabetes and liver cancer, and the reason is probably due to the connection between diabetes and fatty liver disease.** - **Hereditary metabolic diseases: diseases that disrupt the body's natural metabolism, increase the risk of liver cancer.** - **Rare diseases: Studies have shown that there is a connection between liver cancer and some rare diseases such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, tyrosinemia and Wilson's disease.** **symptoms and symptoms of liver cancer** **The thing to remember is that having one or more of the following symptoms does not mean having liver cancer. In fact, many of these symptoms are likely to be caused by other conditions. However, if you have any of these symptoms, you should see a doctor so that the cause can be found and treated quickly.** **Symptoms and symptoms of liver cancer often do not appear until the later stages of the disease, but sometimes they may appear earlier. If a person goes to the doctor when they notice the first symptoms, liver cancer may be diagnosed earlier, which is more likely to help with treatment.** Some of the most common symptoms of liver cancer are: - **Losing weight without doing any special activity** - **Loss of appetite** - **Feeling very full after a small meal** - **nausea or vomiting** - **Enlarged liver that can be felt under the ribs on the right side.** - **Enlarged spleen that can be felt under the ribs on the left side.** - **pain in the abdomen or near the right shoulder** **Swelling or accumulation of fluid in the abdomen** - **itching** - **yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)** **Other symptoms may include fever, enlarged abdominal veins that can be seen through the skin, and abnormal bruising or bleeding.** **People who have chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis may feel bad about their usual conditions or may just have changes in the results of tests such as liver function tests or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels.**

**stages of liver cancer** **Like other cancers, liver cancer also starts from a certain point and progresses over time. The stages of liver cancer can be described as follows:** **Stage I: A tumor is found only in the liver.** **Stage II: A tumor is found, but it has spread to blood vessels, or there is more than one tumor, but they are all smaller than 3 cm.** **Third stage: In the third stage of liver cancer, there is more than one tumor and at least one of them is larger than 5 cm, or the cancer has spread outside the liver to large blood vessels, other organs, or lymph nodes.** **Fourth stage: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bones, as well as the lymph nodes.** **How is liver cancer treated?** **A person's recovery from liver cancer, similar to other diseases, may depend on certain things. For example, a person's general health, how the liver functions, the stage of cancer, and the person's alpha-fetoprotein level affect the treatment.** **Liver cancer disease may be treated using one or more methods including surgery, local treatment, different types of drugs and even liver transplant.** **Treatment of liver cancer with the help of surgery** - **Partial hepatectomy, which includes the removal of a part of the liver, from a smaller wedge to a complete lobe.** **Total hepatectomy and liver transplantation, which includes removing the entire liver and replacing it with a liver donated by the organ donor.** **other treatment methods** - **Destroying liver tumors without removing them. There are several ways to do this, such as freezing, using microwaves, radio frequency, and ethanol.** - **Chemotherapy: using drugs to destroy cancer cells or prevent their proliferation.** - **Targeted treatment: using drugs that affect genes or cancerous tissues. Targeted treatment is different from chemotherapy.** - **Immunotherapy: using drugs that direct the body's immune system to kill cancer cells. This method is also different from chemotherapy.**

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**How can liver cancer be prevented?** Among the most important things that are useful in preventing liver cancer, the following can be mentioned: - **prevention and treatment of hepatitis B and C infections** **Worldwide, the most important risk factor for liver cancer is chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. These viruses can be transmitted from one person to another through the use of contaminated needles, such as drug use, through unprotected sex, and through childbirth. Observing these things and using hepatitis B and C vaccine can have a positive role in reducing the risk of liver cancer.** - **Reduce tobacco use** **Since smoking increases the risk of liver cancer, not smoking prevents liver cancer and respiratory tract cancers. If you smoke, quitting smoking will help reduce your risk of developing this cancer as well as many other life-threatening cancers and diseases.** - **Reaching the right weight** **Avoiding obesity may be another way to help protect against liver cancer. People who are obese are more likely to develop fatty liver disease and diabetes, both of which are associated with liver cancer.** - **Treatment of diseases that increase the risk of liver cancer.** **Some hereditary diseases can cause liver cirrhosis and increase the risk of liver cancer in people. Treatment of these diseases can reduce the risk of liver cancer.** **For example, all children in families with hemochromatosis should be screened for this disease and treated if diagnosed. The treatment regularly removes small amounts of blood to reduce excess iron in the body.** **You can contact us for more information and advice.** Stay in touch with us

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