The liver is the largest organ within the human body. Its functions are proportional to its size. This organ is made up of hepatocytes and is placed beneath the right lung. Other cells, such as those that line the blood vessels and make up the bile ducts, are also present. Bile is transported from the liver to the gallbladder or directly to the intestines.
We simply cannot survive without a liver. It fulfills several critical functions:
- It dissolves and stores many of the compounds required by your body. The gut absorbs them. The liver must convert some of them to create and repair energy.
- It manufactures most items to halt bleeding after a cut or injury.
- It delivers bile to the intestines to aid in absorbing nutrients (particularly lipids).
- Toxins such as alcohol, narcotics, and toxic waste are broken down in the blood and excreted through urine and feces.
Where Does Liver Cancer Come From?
The particular protein causes the death of damaged liver cells. The process is known as apoptosis. Cells that have been injured perish more quickly. To repair the damage, liver cells divide more rapidly. Injured liver cells die over time, and new ones replace them. DNA doubles every time a cell divides. When genes are mutated, they become less stable, increasing the likelihood that a liver cell may develop into a tumor. However, not all tumors are untreatable, so always let professionals check your health to learn more about liver adenoma treatment or other treatment options.
How to Determine if It’s Liver Cancer or Not?
The following steps are often included in the diagnostic process:
- High-risk patients screening. Screening can discover liver tumors without symptoms, but symptoms capture most of them.
- Medical background. Based on medical data, doctors inquire about symptoms and risk factors. A doctor may also look for indicators of liver cancer, such as jaundice (a yellowish hue) in your stomach, skin, and eyes.
More testing is performed if symptoms or a physical exam suggest liver cancer. Imaging, laboratory, and liver biopsies are the most common tests.
Common Symptoms of Liver Tumors
Among the most prevalent symptoms of liver cancer are:
- Weight loss (without attempting to do so);
- Appetite loss;
- Feeling sick;
- Pain in the lower abdomen or around the right shoulder blade;
- Fluid accumulation or edema in the abdomen;
- Itching;
- Yellow skin and eyes.
A fever, visible veins on the belly just beneath the skin’s surface, and unusual bruising or bleeding are other common symptoms.
Just because you have one or multiple symptoms, it doesn’t automatically imply you have liver cancer. In reality, something else is to blame for the majority of these symptoms. But you should definitely visit a doctor as soon as possible.
How to Prepare for an Appointment
Your primary care physician may see you as a patient and then refer you to a hepatologist or liver specialist. A full history, physical examination, and evaluation will be performed during your consultation with your liver specialist. You and your doctor will explore the best therapy choices for you. Maximise the value of your medical consultation through:
- Sending the hepatologist your medical documents.
- Creating a list of symptoms you have, such as nausea, exhaustion, or weight fluctuations.
- Preparing a list of inquiries for your physician:
- About your cancer;
- Stage of your tumor(s);
- Required tests;
- Possible treatment options;
- Any possible side effects of treatment.
Options for Treatment of Liver Tumors
The kind and stage of liver cancer must be considered while deciding on a technique and treatment plan. In addition, the doctor should assess the patient’s liver function, overall health, potential side effects, and possibilities of recovery, living longer, or feeling better.
- Surgery. The best option to treat liver cancer is to surgically remove the tumor or give the patient a new liver. If all of the tumor in your liver is removed, your prognosis will be excellent.
- Chemotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy kills cancer cells and may be an option for those unable to be treated with other techniques. However, most liver cancer chemotherapies are ineffective. Recent research indicates that combining chemotherapy medications may be more successful. However, even these treatment combinations only reduce a few tumors, and the effects are transient. Furthermore, chemotherapy drugs kill quickly-forming cancer cells. Cells in the bone marrow, mouth, stomach lining, and hair follicles proliferate quickly. Chemotherapy can damage these cells, resulting in negative outcomes.
- Immunotherapy. Such an approach entails giving patients medications that boost their immune systems to seek out and eliminate cancer cells.This method could potentially help treat some individuals afflicted with liver cancer. The newer medications target chemicals in immune cells that must be switched on (or off) for an immune response to begin, and they have a lot of potential as therapies for liver cancer.
- Target drug therapy. This method includes employing new medications that directly target cancer-causing cell changes. Medications, like chemotherapy, enter the circulation and are delivered to practically every body organ. However, tailored medications function in a different way. For instance, the immune system produces antibodies, proteins that link to a specific target.
- Radiotherapy. Radiation therapy may be implemented if alternative treatments aren’t possible or haven’t worked. It may help manage symptoms of advanced liver cancer. This treatment destroys cancer cells and shrinks tumors using high-powered radiation from X-rays and protons. Doctors carefully direct the energy to the liver while holding the healthy tissue around it.
- Stereotactic body radiotherapy. It is a form of radiation treatment that simultaneously concentrates many beams of radiation in one location on your body. You lie on a table during external beam radiation therapy treatment, and a machine focuses energy beams at a specific place on your body.
What to Do After Treatment
Periodic blood tests and repeat imaging will be required to monitor for cancer recurrence. Your doctor will determine the scheduling of these tests. If the cancer returns, your doctor will discuss several treatment options, such as surgery, ablation, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of methods. You should follow your doctor’s orders regarding checkups, testing, and prescriptions.
