Liver Cancer Symptoms
What Is Liver Cancer?
Largest organ in the body is liver. It places below the right ribs, and just under the right lung. Under the right ribs, if you push your fingers, you almost touch your liver.
The shape of liver is same as pyramid and is divided into the two lobes such as right and left. Different from other organs, liver can take blood from two sources. The hepatic artery provides blood which contains the oxygen. The portal vein holds blood with nutrient from the intestines to liver.
The liver has very important functions:
- It breaks down the nutrients and stores them which are absorbed from intestine.
- It forms clotting factors required to stop bleeding came from cut or injury.
- It secretes bile in to the intestine which is helpful for absorbing the nutrients.
- It also plays an important part for removing the toxic wastes created in body.
Different types of tumors are created in liver because it is made up of many different cells. Some of tumors are cancerous and while some are not. In medical term, the tumors which are not cancerous are known as benign. Causes for these tumors are different and also treated in different ways.
Primary liver cancer:
This type of cancer is rarely occurs in UK. Each year near about 2700 people gets affected with liver cancer in UK. It is one of the common cancers.
Following are two types of primary liver cancer:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatoma (HCC): This type is restricted with the liver, even if rarely it spreads to the other organs. It is commonly occur in men and also in the people those suffered from the liver diseases (cirrhosis).
- Cholangiocarcinoma or bile duct cancer: Cholangiocarcinoma is so called bile duct cancer because it starts in the cells coating the bile ducts. This is commonly occurred in women.
Some primary tumors are not cancerous and so do not spread to other parts of the body. These are very small and cause no any symptoms.
Secondary cancer in the liver:
This secondary cancer initiated in some other parts of the body and then spreads to the liver. The cancer that spreads to the liver may starts in pancreas, breast, bowel, lung, stomach, skin or in the ovary.
Some of the times, this cancer is found in to the liver and unable to identify where it started. This cancer is also called as unknown primary tumor or cancer.
Causes of liver cancer:
Nutrients are processed by the liver which is absorbed from intestine and decides how much glucose, fats and proteins enter in to the bloodstream. It also produces some proteins and blood-clotting substances. Liver performs very important function that is detoxifying functions by eliminating alcohol, drugs, and harmful things from the bloodstream.
Liver cancer occurs when liver cells begin to grow abnormally. It is not understood completely but researchers say that liver cancer initiated with damaging to the DNA. This DNA contains instructions for chemical processes in the body. DNA gets damaged because of changing the instructions.
Liver Cancer Symptoms and Signs:
In early stages of liver cancer, most of the people do not have liver cancer symptoms and signs. This means that this cancer can be detected when cancer get advanced. When liver cancer symptoms appear, they are some of the following:
- Loss of appetite and weight
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal pain, especially in the upper right part of your abdomen, that may extend into your back and shoulder
- Abdominal swelling (ascites)
- General weakness and fatigue
- An enlarged liver
- A yellow discoloration of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
Liver cancer treatment:
Primary liver cancer treatment depends on the stage of the disease, age, health, personal preference and feelings.
The aim of treatment is to completely remove the cancer but when that is not possible, then focus moves towards preventing the tumor from spreading and growing. Treatment for the primary liver cancer in adults includes the following:
- Surgery. Best treatment for the cancer is surgery and also known as surgical resection. In some of the cases, the whole area of liver completely removed where the cancer found. Even if resections are successful, there is a chance for recurring the cancer anywhere in the liver within the few years.
- Alcohol injection: In this procedure, pure alcohol injection is directly given in to the tumors. This injection is given through skin or at the time of operation. Alcohol is used because it dries out the cells. Each treatment contains, even though you need series of injection for good results. Alcohol injection is used for reducing the symptoms of metastatic liver cancer.
- Radiofrequency ablation: In this procedure, for reducing or destroying the malignant cells, electric current in radio frequency range must be used. With the ultrasound or CT scan, surgeon uses needles which are thin and inserted into the abdomen. When the needles arrive at the tumor, they are heated with the electric current and destroy the malignant cells. Radiofrequency ablation is optional for the people who have small, unresectable hepatocellular tumors.
- Chemoembolization: This is one of the types of chemotherapy treatment in which strong anti cancer drug is directly given in the liver. Chemoembolization is not healing, but it can reduce the tumor up to some percentage and give relief. In this procedure, the hepatic artery is blocked and chemotherapy drugs inserted between the blockage and the liver.
- Cryoablation: Extreme cold is used in this treatment for destroying the cancer cells. Cryoablation may be used also be used together with the surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments. Doctor places an instrument directly in to the liver tumor which contain liquid nitrogen during the procedure. Ultrasound images are used here that guides the cryoprobe and checks the freezing of the cells. Side effect of this cryoablation procedure includes damaging bile ducts and blood vessels leading to infection or bleeding.
- Radiation therapy: For destroying the cancer cells and reducing the tumor, powered energy beams are used in this treatment. Radiation may be come from the machine or the material that contains radiation is inserted in to the liver. Side effects of radiation including nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
- Chemotherapy: Powerful drugs are used in this treatment for killing the cancer cells. This therapy is systematic means it travels in to your whole body through the bloodstream. Systemic chemotherapy is not effective liver cancer treatment but may be used optionally.
- Liver transplantation: This is a surgical procedure in which liver which is diseased is removed and replaced with donated, healthy organ. This transplantation is option for those people who has early stage, small tumor and certain with bile duct tumor.
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