2023-05-24 08:27:19
May 24, 2023
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of death by cancer in the world… Focus on this disease which, in the vast majority of cases, might nevertheless be avoided.
What is the liver for?
Located on the upper right, the liver is a vital organ that provides many functions in the body. Able to regenerate, it secretes bile and is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. It plays an essential role in purification and detoxification. As with any vital organ, diseases that affect it are often cause for concern.
A predominantly male cancer
Each year in France, approximately 10,500 new cases of liver cancer are diagnosed. The most common of them? Hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatocarcinoma. It is a male cancer since 80% of new cases affect men. Age also plays a role as approximately 40% of patients are between 50 and 69 years old at the time of diagnosis and half of patients are over 70 years old.
preventable cancer
Liver cancer most often follows the evolution of a chronic liver disease such as cirrhosis or hepatitis B or C. In fact, it very rarely develops on a healthy liver. Alcohol is the main risk factor. It is responsible for half of new cases of liver cancer. And you don’t have to be an alcoholic. ” The consumption of one to several glasses of alcoholic beverages per day, even if it does not lead to dependence and cirrhosis of the liver, is also considered a risk factor. », reminds the Institut Curie. Obesity and overweight, type 2 diabetes, hepatitis B/D or C and finally tobacco also appear to be contributing factors.
Non-specific symptoms
In fact, liver cancer can, like the chronic diseases that predispose to it, remain silent for many months or even years. This is why the diagnosis is often late, at an advanced stage.
The symptoms which then appear are not very characteristic: fatigue, digestive disorders, weight loss, nausea, etc. As the disease progresses, more severe symptoms appear: jaundice, ascites (swelling of the stomach by accumulation of liquid in the abdominal cavity ) …
Treatments on a case-by-case basis
Therapeutic management depends on the stage of the disease. ” If the tumor is small and localized, the surgeon will perform a partial removal of the liver. The destruction of the tumor by radiofrequency is also an alternative. », explains the Institut Curie. ” If the tumor is large or disseminated in several places of the liver, a total ablation followed by a transplant can be envisaged. But surgery is not always possible. If the tumor grows on an already diseased liver, as is often the case, there may not be enough healthy tissue left for the organ to regenerate and function normally.. »
Percutaneous tumor destruction represents an alternative to surgery. This technique uses heat (radiofrequency) or cold (cryotherapy) to destroy the tumor through the skin without opening the abdomen. Finally, when it is not possible to destroy or remove the tumour, chemotherapy treatments can slow down the development of the cancer.
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