The liver is an organ that performs important functions to protect the body against toxins and harmful substances. Liver cancer is one of the malignancies with the highest number of cases and deaths in Vietnam. The disease is tending to be younger and younger, threatening the lives of millions of people if it is not detected early and has an appropriate treatment regimen.

What is liver cancer?

Liver cancer is a condition in which malignant tumors arise in the liver, leading to the destruction of liver cells and hindering the ability of this important organ to function normally.

Liver cancer has two main types:

– Primary liver cancer: forms from the cells in the liver itself.

– Secondary liver cancer develops when cancer cells from other organs metastasize to the liver such as lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer…

Symptoms of Liver Cancer

Patients may incidentally discover liver cancer even though there are no clinical symptoms during the regular follow-up of 3-6 months. Symptoms of liver cancer such as:

– Jaundice: is the most common symptom, most often manifesting itself when exposed to sunlight. Jaundice is the result of biliary obstruction caused by a tumor. Bile salts (bilirubin) regurgitate from the bile ducts into the hepatic sinusoids, enter the bloodstream, and are deposited in the skin. Jaundice is often accompanied by pale stools and dark urine (such as water).

– Yellow eyes: manifested in the sclera of the eye with a dark yellow color. This sign may appear before or at the same time as jaundice.

– Pruritus: often accompanies jaundice but in many cases occurs before jaundice. The degree of pruritus usually increases at night and is almost unresponsive to dermatological treatments. Itching is caused by bile acid deposition in the skin, which stimulates sensory nerve receptors.

– Weight loss: about 30-50% cases are lost weight at the time of diagnosis. This is the result of digestive disorders (loss of appetite, indigestion, bloating) because there is no bile to be excreted into the intestines.

– Abdominal pain in the liver: the early stage is often vague, not clear. When abdominal pain is severe, it is often due to complications of biliary obstruction.

Causes of Liver Cancer

– Cirrhosis: Liver cancer is common on the background of cirrhosis, accounting for up to 80%. The causes that can lead to cirrhosis causing cancer include alcoholic cirrhosis, cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus leading to hepatocellular carcinoma after 20-40 years, cirrhosis of the liver. due to iron contamination. However, there is still a percentage of people infected with hepatitis B and C viruses, even without cirrhosis, still have liver cancer.

– Prolonged use of oral contraceptives can also cause liver cancer. Long-term use of oral contraceptives causes an adenoma in the liver that can easily progress to hepatocellular carcinoma.

– Aflatoxin of Aspergillus fungus present in foods such as peanuts, moldy beans can also be the cause of liver cancer.

Who is at high risk for the disease?

People with factors that increase the risk of disease such as:

– Chronic HBV or HCV infection: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

– Cirrhosis: Progressive and irreversible cirrhosis causes scar tissue to form in the liver.

– Certain inherited liver diseases: Liver diseases that can increase the risk of liver cancer include hemochromatosis and Wilson’s disease (a disorder of copper metabolism).

– Diabetes: People with this blood sugar disorder have a higher risk of liver cancer than people without the disease.

– Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: The accumulation of fat in the liver is known to increase the risk of liver cancer.

– Exposure to aflatoxin: Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by molds on poorly preserved crops. Crops, such as grains and nuts, can be contaminated with aflatoxin. As a result, the foods made from them become dangerous pathogens for the liver.

– Excessive alcohol consumption: Consuming more than the permissible amount of alcohol over many years can lead to irreversible liver damage, increasing the risk of liver cancer.

What you need to do to prevent Liver Cancer

Reasonable adjustment of daily meat and sugar intake

Meat when entering the stomach will be converted into fat and stored in the liver, so eating too much meat will cause liver damage.

Another big burden on the liver is sugar – appearing in sweets, soft drinks, confectionery …. The habit of eating more sweets will also bring an adverse reaction to the liver.

Cut down on meat and sugar to make sure you’re not overeating and increase your intake of green foods like fruits and vegetables.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Alcohol and tobacco are pathways to liver cancer faster in people with hepatitis B and C.

Alcohol makes the liver unable to filter all toxins, from which liver cells are damaged and replaced by scar tissue, causing chronic cirrhosis, and leading to liver cancer.

In particular, people with hepatitis B and C have a high risk of liver cancer if they drink a lot of alcohol. If you want a healthy liver, stay away from alcohol and tobacco.

Besides, nowadays, with many people, sleeping late and staying up late have become their normal state. Some people workday and night, leaving the liver barely rested. When this organ is not relaxed, adequate rest will affect the self-repair of dead cells and will cause it to fall into a state of extreme fatigue, gradually weakened and damaged.

Therefore, the advice for you is to immediately pay attention to the adjustment of your schedule, pay attention to appropriate rest, and exercise outdoors with appropriate intensity.

Control feelings

The ancients believed that anger harms the heart and liver, and there is also a saying like “doing great work makes it hot in the liver”, which means that your mood greatly affects the health of your liver. Feelings of anger, stress, and being in a negative state take a toll on the liver, but in life, we can not guarantee everything is fine.

Therefore, the best thing you can do is learn simple ways to control your emotions and stay positive.

Timely improvement of liver function

If you check your health and see abnormal levels of liver enzymes and bilirubin, it means that the liver cells have been relatively severely damaged. Add foods and medicines that contain vitamin C, vitamin B, and other drugs that are good for the liver. However, it should be kept in mind that too much medicine will increase the burden on the liver, it will also affect the absorption of the body, and delay the recovery time of liver function.

Reference: tamanhhospital.vn, vinmec.com, benhvienungbuounghean.vn

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