Diagnosing Liver Cancer. Tests and Procedures Used to Diagnose Liver Cancer

Diagnosing Liver Cancer
Tests and Procedures Used to Diagnose Liver Cancer

When liver cancer is suspected, there are several medical tests used to confirm suspicions. From bloodwork to imaging like ultrasounds, physicians can go about a number of ways to diagnose a person with liver cancer.

How Does a Doctor Diagnose Liver Cancer

Physical Exam. The physical exam is the first step in diagnosis any disease, liver cancer included. The doctor will check for any abnormalities like lumps, listen to your heart and lungs and check for other things. A physical exam is normally painless.
Complete Blood Count(CBC). The CBC is a routine blood test that checks for the amount of red and white blood cells and platelets. This test also reveals how much of the sample is made up of red blood cells.

Alpha-fetoprotein Tumor Maker Test (AFP). A tumor marker test measures the amount of substances in the body released by cell and organs. Many times, an increase in the level can indicate diseases. The alpha-fetoprotein test can indicate liver cancer, cirrhosis and hepatitis, if there is a hike in the levels.

Ultrasound. During an ultrasound, a technician uses a small instrument that glides along your skin that reveals your organs on a screen. The ultrasound uses high energy waves that bounce off organs to reveal an image. It is completely painless and allows doctors to get a good look at the liver.

Other Imaging Tests Used: Other imaging equipment such as an MRI and CT Scanmay also be performed. These are both painless tests.

Laparoscopy. A laparoscopy is an exploratory surgical procedure. Tiny incisions are made into the abdomen and a lighted scope is inserted for the surgeon to view the organs. The surgeon is looking for abnormalities or signs of disease.

Biopsy. A biopsy made be done during the laparoscopy or during an ultrasound. A very fine needle is inserted through the skin to the liver and a small sample of cells is taken.

• Liver Cancer Symptoms - Symptoms of Liver Cancer
• Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
• Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer

Source: national Cancer Institute: Liver Cancer PDQ

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer

Some cases of liver cancer can't be prevented. Factors like genetics and involuntary exposure to certain chemicals are things we can't really control. However, there are some simple lifestyle changes we can make to help reduce our risk factor for liver cancer.These simple tips will lead you in the path of reducing your risk factor.

1. Quit Smoking.
If you are smoker, now is never a better time to quit. Smoking has been linked to liver cancer in studies. Smoking not only has been linked to liver cancer, it has also been connected with many other types of cancers and diseases as well.

2. Watch Your Alcohol Intake.
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and alcohol abuse leads to a disease causes cirrhosis. Having cirrhosis is can lead to liver cancer. If you drink, do so in moderation.

3. Get the Hepatitis B Vaccine for You and Your Children.
The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all children in the United States and is required for school entry. If you are an adult, take a look over your medical records to ensure you were properly immunized as a child. If you don't have access to those records, talk to your physician about how the vaccine. Ensure your children receive the vaccine at recommended ages. Hepatitis B infection is a major risk factor for liver cancer development.

4. Practice Safe Sex.
By having unprotected sex, you can contract many diseases, including hepatitis C. Being infected with hepatitis B or C is one of the major risk factors for liver cancer.

5. Don't use Illegal IV Drugs.
Contaminated needles shared by drug users can transmit hepatitis C. If you are a drug user, seek help immediately.

• Liver Cancer Symptoms - Symptoms of Liver Cancer
• Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
• Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
• Diagnosing Liver Cancer

Source: American Cancer Society: Do We Know What Causes Liver Cancer?

Liver Cancer Treatment Overview. Options in Treating Liver Cancer

Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
Options in Treating Liver Cancer

How adult primary liver cancer is treated differs, depending on the stage of the disease. Some treatment plans may include standard treatments like chemotherapy or radiation, while some plans will include clinical trials of new drugs and treatment methods. Regardless of what type of treatment plan you and your doctor choose, you should know all the options that are available.

Treatment Options for Primary Liver Cancer
Surgery. There are a couple of different option for treating liver cancer surgically. These options include:

• Cryosurgery: This type of surgery involves freezing cancer cells within the liver tissue. This type of treatment is typically performed in cases where the cancer has not spread to nearby tissues.
• Partial hepatectomy: A partial hepatectomy is the surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver.
• Complete hepatectomy: A total hepatectomy is the complete surgical removal of the liver. A liver transplant is done with this procedure.
• Radiofrequency ablation: This is the use of a probe that has tiny electrodes that destroy cancer cells. The probe is inserted through an incision in the abdomen, under anesthesia.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to stop the growth or kill cancer cells. There are many ways chemotherapy drugs are given. Unfortunately, there are quite a few side effects of chemotherapy. Side effects include hair loss, nausea, and stomach upset.

Radiation Therapy. Radiation therapy is the use of high energy beams to destroy cancer cells. There are side effects to radiation therapy, just like in chemotherapy. Radiation can be given internally, externally or through seeds and catheters.

Ethanol Injection. An ethanol injection is basically alcohol injected into the tumor. It is sometimes done a couple of times a week under localized anesthesia.

• Liver Cancer Symptoms - Symptoms of Liver Cancer
• Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer
• Diagnosing Liver Cancer

Source: National Cancer Institute: Liver Cancer Treatment

Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors

Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors

What You Should Know About the Causes and Risk Factors of Liver Cancer:

Liver cancer can affect both children and adults, but occurs most often in adults. There are several types of liver cancer, but the risk factors and prevention tips below refer to adult primary liver cancer, called hepatocellular carcinoma (aka hepatoma or HCC).

Great strides have been made in liver cancer research, cluing us into what may cause the disease and increases our risk of developing it. Some liver cancer risk factors can be controlled through lifestyle modifications, like limiting alcohol consumption. Other factors cannot be controlled, however, such as race and genetics.

Excessive, Long-Term Alcohol Use:
Excessive, long-term use of alcohol can cause liver damage caused cirrhosis, a condition marked by scarring of the liver. This scar tissue replaces healthy tissue, impeding liver function, leaving it unable to perform it's vital duties. Cirrhosis is a major risk factor for liver cancer development.

Hepatitis Infection:
A chronic infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C is also a major risk factor for liver cancer development.

Aflatoxin Exposure:
Eating foods tainted with aflatoxin (poison from a fungus that can grow on foods, such as grains and nuts, that have not been stored properly), can increase your risk of developing liver cancer. Aflatoxin poisoning is uncommon in the United States due to strict regulations and testing, but can occur in other countries where the storage of these foods may be favorable to mold growth.

Hemochromatosis:
Having hereditary hemochromatosis, a condition marked by the body's increased absorption and storage of iron, increases one's risk of developing liver cancer. It is a common genetic disorder that is associated with cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure and other conditions unrelated to the liver. People with hemochromatosis store excess amounts of iron in the body's tissue, commonly in liver tissue, ultimately causing liver damage that can lead to liver cancer.

Sclerosing Cholangitis:
Sclerosing cholangitis is a chronic disease that causes the bile ducts to become inflamed and damaged, leading to cirrhosis and possibly even cancer. Other complications from sclerosing cholangitis include vitamin deficiencies, liver failure, and bile duct infections.

Smoking:
Smoking is a risk factor many types of cancer, and liver cancer is no exception. Several studies suggest a link between smoking and liver cancer.

Race and Sex:
Asians and Pacific Islanders develop liver cancer more often than other races, largely due to the hepatitis epidemic among these regions. Caucasians develop liver cancer less frequently than these minority race populations.

Liver cancer is also much more common in men than in women, although the reasoning isn't quite clear, yet.

Reducing Your Risk of Developing Liver Cancer:
Watching your alcohol intake is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of liver cancer. Drinking more than a moderate amount of alcohol long term is a leading risk factor of liver cancer. If you do drink, do so in moderation.

We also know that hepatitis B and C infections are also a major risk factor of liver cancer. To prevent hepatitis B infection, ensure you and your children have been properly immunized with the Hep B vaccine.

Shared tattoo and illegal drug needles are a source of infection of not only HIV, but also hepatitis C. Ensure needles in tattoo studios have not been reused. If you are an IV drug user, don't share needles.

Engaging in unprotected sex with an infected person can also spread the virus, so always protect yourself by using a condom during sexual intercourse.

If you are smoker, now is never a better time to quit. Smoking not only has been linked to liver cancer, it has also been connected with many other types of cancers and diseases as well.

• Liver Cancer Symptoms - Symptoms of Liver Cancer
• Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer
• Diagnosing Liver Cancer

Source:

National Cancer Institute. Liver Cancer.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/liver/

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health. Cirrhosis.
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/
More About Liver Cancer

Liver Cancer Symptoms. Signs and Symptoms of Adult Liver Cancer

Liver Cancer Symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Adult Liver Cancer

Like many types of cancers, liver cancer does not usually cause any symptoms in the early stages. As the disease progresses, liver cancer symptoms begin to appear, prompting one to seek medical attention. Due to the delayed onset of symptoms, liver cancer is often diagnosed in an advanced stage.

Symptoms of Liver Cancer

• jaundice (condition that causes the yellowing of the skin and eyes)

Definition: the yellowing of the skin and white part of the eyes (sclera). Jaundice occurs when there is an increased level of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a yellow-brown pigmented substance that is the product of the breakdown of hemoglobin.

Jaundice is a sign of liver, gallbladder and bile duct diseases and conditions. It is common in newborn infants and with those that suffer from liver cancer, bile duct cancer and sometimes pancreatic cancer.

Pronunciation: jawn-dis

• unintentional weight loss
• loss of appetite
• pain and/or discomfort on the right side of the abdomen
• pain or discomfort that occurs in the right shoulder blade area

Other liver cancer symptoms that may be experienced are fever, general fatigue that is not relieved with rest, and nausea and/or vomiting. Symptoms can appear separately or together.

These liver cancer symptoms can be nonspecific --if you have them, they do not exactly pinpoint liver cancer. However, they do alert your doctor that your liver and how it is functioning may need to be evaluated.

* Symptom Checker: What Could Your Symptoms Mean?
* When You Can't Get a Diagnosis
* What Drinkers Need to Know About Alcohol Induced Liver Disease

• Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
• Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer
• Diagnosing Liver Cancer

There are no current recommended screening test for those at an average risk of liver cancer. Though this may aid in early detection, it is not very cost effective for the general population. People suffering from hepatitis or cirrhosis are most at risk of developing liver cancer and are monitored closely for physical signs and symptoms of the disease.

Liver Cancer. Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Liver Cancer - What is Liver Cancer?
The Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention of Liver Cancer

Liver cancer is a type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the liver, the second largest organ in our body. The liver weighs about 2 to 6 pounds and is located in the right upper abdomen. The liver has many duties, such as detoxifying substances, secreting bile and metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Like other organs in our body, the liver is susceptible to diseases, including cancer. There are several types of cancer that can develop in the liver of adults, including:

• hepatocellular carcinoma, also known as hepatoma (most common type of liver cancer)
• cholangiocarcinomas

Liver cancer can also be classified as primary or secondary. Primary liver cancer is cancer that has originated in the liver. Secondary liver cancer is cancer that has spread to the liver from another location in the body.

Children can develop a rare type of liver cancer called "hepatoblastoma." Since hepatoblastoma is very rare and is a childhood cancer, this article will solely reference adult primary liver cancer.

Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
The exact causes of liver cancer aren't known at this time. Researchers have identified several known risk factors for liver cancer, though. Cirrhosis, a condition marked by scarring of the liver, is a major risk factor for liver cancer. It has several causes, with excessive, long-term alcohol consumption being a primary cause. Smoking, alcohol abuse and being infected with hepatitis are all factors that increase the chance of developing liver cancer.

Other risk factors include hemochromatosis, primary schlerosing cholangitis (PSC) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Symptoms of Liver Cancer
Liver cancer does not present any symptoms in the early stages. As the disease progresses, symptoms of liver cancer include:

• jaundice (the yellowing of the skin and eyes)
• unintentional weight loss
• loss of appetite
• pain and/or discomfort on the right side of the abdomen
• pain or discomfort that occurs in the right shoulder blade

Diagnosis of Liver Cancer
Blood work (such as liver function tests), a hepatitis panel, and tumor markers are often the first steps in diagnosing liver cancer. One specific test, the alpha-fetoprotein tumor maker test (AFP), may be ordered for screening liver diseases. A tumor marker test measures the amount of substances in the body released by cells and organs. Many times, an increase in the level of these substances can indicate certain diseases. The AFP test can indicate liver cancer if there is a spike in certain levels.

Your doctor may also recommend that you have an ultrasound. During an ultrasound, a technician uses a small instrument that glides along your skin, showing your organs on a screen. It is completely painless and allows doctors to get a good look at the liver.

Other imaging tests that help diagnose liver cancer include: MRI and CT Scan.

Ultimately, it is a biopsy that determines whether cancer is present or not. During a liver biopsy, a fine needle in inserted in to the liver through a small incision made in the skin. The biopsy needle retrieves a small sample of liver tissue, and the needle is removed. You are given a local anesthetic for the procedure, and it is performed usually on an outpatient basis at a hospital.

A liver biopsy can be obtained during laparoscopic surgery as well. Transjugular biopsy is less common, but it is an option when there is a concern about blood clotting or excessive fluid in the abdomen.

Liver Cancer Treatment
How liver cancer is treated differs, depending on the stage of the disease. Some treatment plans may include standard treatments, such as chemotherapy, while some plans will include clinical trials of new drugs and treatment methods. Regardless of what type of treatment plan you and your doctor choose, you should know all the options that are available.

There are a couple of different options for treating liver cancer surgically. These options include:
• Partial hepatectomy: A partial hepatectomy is the surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver.
• Liver transplant: In this procedure, the diseased liver is removed and is replaced with a part or entire healthy liver. A liver transplant is available for select patients, and liver donors can be strangers or family members who meet specific criteria.
• Radiofrequency ablation: This is the use of a probe that has tiny electrodes that destroy cancer cells. The probe is inserted through an incision in the abdomen, under anesthesia.

Chemotherapy may be prescribed to treat liver cancer. Treatment drugs work by eliminating rapidly multiplying cancer cells; however, there are other healthy cells in the body that multiply just as quickly, such as hair follicle cells. Unfortunately, many chemotherapy drugs may not be able to discern the two, attacking healthy cells and causing side effects, such as hair loss.

Liver Cancer Prevention
Some cases of liver cancer can't be prevented. Factors, such as genetics and involuntary exposure to certain chemicals, are things we can't really control. There are, however, some simple lifestyle changes we can make to help reduce our risk factor for liver cancer. These simple tips will lead you in the path of reducing your risk factor: Watch Your Alcohol Intake. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and alcohol abuse leads to a disease that causes cirrhosis. Having cirrhosis is a risk factor for liver cancer. If you do drink, do so in moderation.

Get the Hepatitis B Vaccine for You and Your Children. The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all children in the United States and is required for school entry. If you are an adult, take a look over your medical records to ensure you were properly immunized as a child. If you don't have access to those records, talk with your physician about how the vaccine may benefit you as an adult. Ensure your children receive the vaccine at recommended ages. Hepatitis B infection is a major risk factor for liver cancer development.

Practice Safe Sex. By having unprotected sex, you can contract many diseases, including hepatitis C. Being infected with hepatitis B or C is one of the major risk factors for liver cancer.

Don't Share Needles. Shared tattoo and illegal drug needles are a source of infection of not only HIV, but also hepatitis C. If you get a tattoo, make sure the tattoo artist uses new needles. It is a nationwide law, but it never hurts to double-check. If you are an IV drug user, never share needles.

Quit Smoking. If you are smoker, now is never a better time to quit. Smoking not only has been linked to liver cancer, it has also been connected with many other types of cancers and diseases as well.

• Liver Cancer Symptoms - Symptoms of Liver Cancer
• Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
• Liver Cancer Treatment Overview
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Liver Cancer
• Diagnosing Liver Cancer