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Hepatocellular carcinoma commonly known as liver cancer is a
deadly cancer. It will kill almost all patients who have it within a year.
The World Health Organization estimated approximately four hundred thirty
thousand new cases of liver cancer worldwide and a similar number of
patients died as a result of the disease. Most common areas of the world
with high rate of people being affected by the disease are the sub-Saharan
Africa and Southeast Asia.
The liver is the largest organ in the body, which is found behind the ribs
on the right side of the abdomen and it has two parts: the right lobe and
the smaller left lobe. It has many important functions that keep a person
healthy; it removes harmful materials from the blood, it makes enzymes and
bile that help us digest food, and it also converts food into substances
needed for life and growth. The liver gets its supply of blood from two
vessels, the hepatic portal vein where most blood comes from, and the rest
comes from the hepatic artery.
Hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver, which can be benign
or malignant (cancerous). Tumors of the liver occur when there is an
inaccuracy in the normal regulation of growth of any cells in the liver,
including the liver cells themselves (hepatocyte), the bile duct, or the
blood vessels within the liver.
Initial symptoms of liver cancer are unpredictable. In countries where this
disease is very common, generally the cancer is discovered at a very
advanced stage of the disease because of several reasons; one of them being
the areas where there is high frequency of the disease are usually
developing countries and access to healthcare is limited, another is
screening examinations for patients at risk for developing the cancer are
not available in these areas.
To add up to these, patients from these
regions actually have more aggressive liver cancer diseases therefore
reaching the advanced stage more rapidly. Symptoms of this disease include
pain in the upper abdomen on the right side (the pain may extend to the back
and shoulder), swollen abdomen (bloating), weight loss, loss of appetite and
feelings of fullness, weakness or feeling very tired, nausea and vomiting,
yellow skin and eyes, dark urine from jaundice, and fever.
The best way to prevent liver cancer is avoiding the risk factors that are
linked with it. Keeping away from the excessive use of alcohol and quitting
smoking can reduce the risk of liver cancer. Preventing and treating HBV and
HCV infections is also important. In other parts of the world, changing the
way that foods are stored and processed can decrease the risk of aflatoxin
exposure. Proper treatment of water can reduce the risk of arsenic in
drinking water. Right treatment of inherited diseases associated with
cirrhosis and liver cancer can reduce the risk of developing either of the
disease. Although the risk of liver cancer can never be diminished to zero,
it can be significantly reduced by avoiding known risk factors.
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