Liver Cancer Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
There are two types of liver cancer. The first type is cancer originating from liver cells that turn malignant, or medically known as a hepatoma. While the second type is cancer originating from other organs that spread (metastasize) to the liver. This article discusses the first type of liver cancer (hepatoma).
The liver is located under the right side of the lung. This organ functions to neutralize toxins in the body, form proteins and blood clotting factors, and metabolize several hormones. In liver cancer, all liver functions are disrupted.
Symptom
Symptoms of liver cancer are similar to those of chronic liver disease, namely:
- Eyes and skin look yellow
- Nausea and vomiting
- Itching all over the body
- Prolonged fever with no clear cause
- Discomfort or pain in the upper right abdomen
- Enlarged heart size
- Weight loss without a clear cause
- Disturbance of consciousness
Reason
The cause of liver cancer is not known with certainty, but people with the following diseases have a high risk of liver cancer:
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- HIV/AIDS
- Obesity
- Have a family with liver cancer
Diagnosis
Signs of liver cancer usually only appear when the disease is in an advanced stage, so it’s too late to be treated. Therefore, people who have a high risk of liver cancer should see a doctor.
Doctors will generally recommend an Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) examination which is taken from the patient’s blood. In addition, to see the shape of the liver and the presence of tumors, an ultrasound examination, CT scan, or MRI is also needed.
If the AFP examination shows a high value and a tumor is visible from an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI, the doctor will confirm the disease by taking a liver biopsy.
Treatment
If the size of the tumor is still small, the main treatment is to perform surgery to remove the tumor. After that, you can proceed with a liver transplant.
Unfortunately, most patients with liver cancer know their disease too late, so they come to the doctor with a large tumor. If it is inoperable, the treatment that can be done is chemotherapy and radiation.
However, this action cannot completely remove the tumor, only to reduce the size of the tumor, so that the symptoms experienced by sufferers are milder.
Prevention
To prevent liver cancer, what needs to be done is to avoid diseases that can increase the risk of liver cancer, namely hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Both types of diseases are transmitted through body fluids, for example through needles and sexual intercourse.
Avoid free sex and injecting drug use so you don’t get infected with hepatitis B and C. In addition, maintain a healthy liver by not consuming alcohol in large quantities and frequently.