Liver Cancer

Overview

Liver cancer or in other words also called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is accounted to be the most common kind of primary liver cell carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma usually followed by chronic liver diseases, such as cirrhosis as there are multiple scarrings and changes occuring in the liver parenchyma generally caused by chronic hepatitis C infection.

Signs and Symptoms

Weight loss, Loss of appetite, Upper abdominal pain, Nausea and vomiting, Fatigue,Abdominal distension, Palpable mass in abdomen, Yellow discoloration of skin and conjunctiva, Pale coloured stool

Common Causes

Mutation of the gene in the liver cells

Risk Factors

Chronic infection with HBV or HCV, Cirrhosis, Certain inherited liver diseases: hemochromatosis and Wilson's disease, Diabetes mellitus, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Exposure to aflatoxins: Aflatoxins are poisons produced by molds that grow on crops that are stored poorly, Excessive alcohol consumption

Investigation Techniques

Full blood count, Liver function test, Wedge hepatic venous pressure (WHVP), Liver biopsy, Abdominal ultrasound, CT (thorax, abdomen, pelvis-TAP) for distant metastasis, MRI

Treatment and Prevention

Surgery: to remove the cancer and a margin of healthy tissue that surrounds it, Liver transplant surgery, Ablation therapy, Delivering chemotherapy or radiation directly to cancer cells, Radiation therapy, Targeted drug therapy, Immunotherapy