Liver Cancer

Overview

Developing malicious cancerous cells(malignant cells)in the liver leads to Liver cancer. It can originate within the organ or due to the presence of cancerous cells somewhere else in the body.

Causes

Cancer in the liver can be triggered due to some risk factors but they cannot be clinically verified. Mutated cells develop into tumours or growths in our body and then this spreads as cancerous cells throughout your body.

Symptoms

Liver cancer detection is difficult in the early stages as symptoms do not naturally present themselves. In the later stages, a whole variety of symptoms start to appear.

Abnormal Weight loss
Aversion to food
Nausea and vomiting sensation
Swelling in the abdominal region
Yellow patches on the skin and jaundiced eyes
Chalky stools
Pain in the abdomen
Weakness
Fatigue

Risk factor

The global statistics show that repetitive liver infection is the primary cause of liver cancer.

Scar tissue formation in the liver
Hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C can cause chronic infection
Genetically acquired liver disease like Wilson's disease and hemochromatosis
Diabetes
Non-alcoholic fatty liver
Carcinogens
Alcoholism

Diagnosis

A liver cancer diagnosis by a blood test, imaging tests or in some cases for definitive results biopsy.

Treatment

There are both surgical and non-surgical methods of treatment.

1. Surgical

2. Non-Invasive method

Radiation therapy
Subjecting to cancer cells to freezing temperatures(cryoablation)
Artificially induced embolization technique
Pure alcohol injection directly into tumours to kill the cells
Chemical injections(Chemotherapy)
Heat therapy(heat is directly introduced to cancerous cells)
Immunotherapy in extreme cases
Drugs are targeted to cancerous cells(Targeted Drug Treatment)