info@africacancerhub.com
Forum

LIVER CANCER

Your liver is a football-sized organ that sits in the upper right portion of your abdomen, beneath your diaphragm and above your stomach.

Liver cancer is a cancer that starts in the cells of the liver. Any cancer that begins from the liver is called Primary liver cancer. A cancer that starts from another organ and spreads to the liver is called secondary cancer in the liver. Secondary cancers in the liver are more common than primary cancers. 

Types of Liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma

This is sometimes called Hepatoma and is the most common type of liver cancer. It happens in people that have chronic liver disease caused by Hep B and C . This is more common in people who drink lots of alcohol and have accumulation of fat in the liver

Bile duct cancer

This is another type of liver cancer that starts in the cells of the bile duct. This occurs in most people over the age of 60.

Angiosarcoma

It is a type of soft tissue sarcoma that start in the blood vessels of the liver.

Fibrolamellar HCC

This usually affects young people.

Symptoms of Liver cancer

Liver cancer usually does not show any symptoms in early stages. The following are the possible symptoms of liver cancer:

  • Itchy skin
  • loss of appetite
  • bruising or bleeding easily
  • feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting
  • aching or pain on the right side of the tummy area (abdomen) under the ribs
  • feeling full soon after beginning to eat
  • losing weight for no obvious reason
  • a high temperature and flu-like symptoms
  • dark urine and pale stools
  • feeling extremely tired (fatigued), generally weak or unwell
  • Fluid build-up (called ascites)
  • yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (also called jaundice).

Causes/risk factors of Liver cancer

  • HCC, for example is more common in people aged 60 and over, and more common in men than women.
  • Cirrhosis can increase the risk of getting primary liver cancer, especially HCC. Cirrhosis is usually caused by Hep B & C infection, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcohol.
  • Having a close family that has liver cancer can increase the risk slightly of getting it.

Diagnosis

Some of the following tests can be used to diagnose HCC

Blood tests

Your doctor will carry out blood tests called liver function tests and another to check for a tumour marker called alpha-fetoprotein.

Imaging tests

Like ultrasound, CT and MRI scans

Biopsy

Some tissue from the liver is removed so that it can be examined under a microscope.

 

Staging

Stage 1

It means that there is a single tumour that has not spread into the blood vessels and is usually slightly over 2cm.

Stage 2

This means that there is a single tumour more than 2cm and it has grown into the blood vessels or several tumours all less than 5cm.

Stage 3

This means that there is one tumour bigger than 5cm, has spread into a blood vessel and has spread to the organs nearby ( not including the gallbladder)

Stage 4

The cancer has spread into the lymph nodes around the liver (Stage 4A) and also to other parts like the lungs and bones (stage 4B).

 

Treatment

Surgery

This may be possible for early stage cancer where the cancer ha snot spread.

Embolisation

The doctor blocks the blood vessels close to the cancer to try shrink the cancer.

Tumour ablation

This involves using heat or cold for people who are unable to have surgery. It involves using cryoablation or ablation using alcohol.

Chemotherapy

his may be used when surgery is not an option

Radiation

This involves using energy X-rays or stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT)which involves focusing many beams of radiation at one point in your body.

Targeted drug therapy

They attack weaknesses in the liver cells and may help slow the progression of advanced liver cancer e.g sorafenib.

Immunotherapy

They use the body’s germ fighting immune system to attack the cancer cells.

Menu