Primary liver or hepatocellular carcinoma is a disease that develops when normal cells in the liver become abnormal in behavior and appearance. The abnormality is due to changes in the cells’ DNA (mutations). Since DNA provides instructions for various chemical processes in the body, their changes or mutations also alter these instructions.
Changes may cause cells to behave differently, attack normal tissue, multiply rapidly, and spread throughout the liver as well as to other organs.
What are the types of liver cancer?
These are types of primary liver cancer, or cancer that has developed from the liver. Cancers that have developed from another part of the body and spread to the liver are called metastatic cancer. Even colon cancer that has spread to the liver is called metastatic colon cancer. There are more cases of secondary or metastatic liver cancer than cancer that started in the liver or metastatic liver cancer.
Liver cancer, or hepatoma, is the most common type of liver cancer. The primary type of hepatocytes arises from hepatocytes. Liver tumors are round tumors that spread and destroy normal cells. The spread of primary liver cancer to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body.
Cholangiocarcinomas are rare liver cancers that develop from the bile duct and are classified into intrahepatic and cholangiocarcinomas. This is a rare type of cancer.
Hepatoma is another rare liver cancer found in children who are usually younger than 4 years old.
Risk factors:
Factors that increase the chances of developing a primary liver:
Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Cirrhosis or irreversible scarring of the liver. There are many causes of cirrhosis and the most common are: habitual excessive alcohol consumption, fatty liver or non-alcoholic liver disease.
diabetic
Hemochromatosis, Wilson’s disease and other hereditary liver diseases
Exposure to aflatoxin, a toxin from molds that grow on improperly stored crops (such as peanuts and corn). Aflatoxin can cause the DNA of liver cells to mutate, which results in the growth of abnormal cells.
Symptoms of liver cancer:
Early liver cancer does not cause symptoms. As the cancer grows larger, people may notice one or more of these common symptoms
Unexplained weight loss
Anorexia
Pain and tenderness in the upper right side of the abdomen
Vomiting and nausea
General weakness and fatigue
Abdominal distension / hepatomegaly
Yellow discoloration of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
swollen legs
Frequent sleepiness (encephalopathy)
These symptoms may also be due to other health problems rather than liver cancer. See your doctor for guidance on the appropriate diagnosis that you should undergo in order to determine the disease.
Liver cancer diagnosis:
The following are the diagnostic tests and procedures that doctors use to determine whether or not a patient has liver cancer:
A blood test is done to check the level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), prothrombin-dis-gamma carboxylate and other markers of liver cancer in the blood. This percentage is higher in about 70% of patients with liver cancer.
Imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), CT scan and ultrasound may determine the size of the tumor and how far the cancer has spread.
A biopsy is done to confirm a diagnosis of liver cancer through laboratory analysis of liver tissue. Other tests may show liver abnormalities but are not conclusive that it is cancer.
Liver cancer stages:
The stage of the cancer is the extent (stage) into which the cancerous tumor has grown or spread. The medical team attending to a patient with liver cancer needs to know the stage to be able to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.
There is more than one way to stage liver cancer. In one method, stages are identified using the numbers 1 (I) through 4 (IV) and letters A through D. The higher the number, the more advanced the cancer. The stage of the cancer can be: Stage 3. Stage 1A or Stage IIIB, 4C.
Another method used by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) is the TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) system which includes three sets of information: “T” for tumor size or extent, “N” describes whether the cancer has spread to surrounding lymph nodes The “M” describes the extent to which the liver cancer has spread to other areas outside the liver. The phase is designated as T1, T2, M0 or N2.”
Liver cancer treatment:
Treatments for primary liver cancer depend on the extent (stage) of the disease as well as the patient’s age, general health, and other individual factors. The treatment plan is generally determined by a medical team that includes oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, and gastroenterologists.
Liver cancer treatment may include the following methods:
Surgery to remove the tumor if it is still small and liver transplant
Ablation therapy to kill cancer cells without surgery.
Topical treatments are applied directly to the cancer cells or the surrounding area and include:
Radiofrequency ablation or the use of electric current to heat and destroy cancer cells
Cryodoping or using a very low temperature to destroy cancer cells.
Transvascular chemotherapy (TACE) administers chemotherapy through a thin tube called a catheter into a large artery in the leg or arm.
Alcohol injection – pure alcohol is injected directly into the tumor
Embolization is a procedure to starve the cancer and prevent its growth by blocking the blood vessels in the affected area.
Chemotherapy is the use of medication to kill cancer cells. The drug is given orally or by injection into a vein or artery.
Targeted therapy is the use of cancer growth blockers, monoclonal antibodies and other drugs that will help the body recover
