2024-02-03 22:12:45
[이데일리 이순용 기자]Every year, February 2nd is ‘Liver Cancer Day’ established by the Korean Liver Cancer Society. The purpose is to prevent liver cancer early by taking two tests (liver ultrasound and serum alpha-fetoprotein test) twice a year if you have risk factors for liver cancer. Even if 70-80% of the liver is damaged due to viruses, alcohol, drugs, etc., it does not send out any danger signals and is called the ‘silent organ.’ This is why the number of deaths from liver cancer is higher than the number of cases.
According to national cancer registration statistics released at the end of last year, the number of new cancer cases in Korea in 2021 is 277,523, of which 15,131 (5.5%) are new patients with liver cancer, ranking 7th following thyroid cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer. On the other hand, the relative survival rate for liver cancer over the past five years (2017-2021) is 39.3%, ranking fourth following pancreatic cancer (15.9%), gallbladder and other biliary tract cancers (28.9%), and lung cancer (38.5%). This figure is significantly lower than the overall cancer relative survival rate of 72.1%.
Bu-won Bu, director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Incheon Himchan General Hospital, said, “The liver itself has very few nerve cells, so even when inflammation or liver cancer occurs, pain is often not felt in the early stages, and it is only following the cancer cells grow larger and invade the skin and mucous membrane surrounding the liver. “However, the low survival rate of liver cancer is a threat, but since it mainly occurs in people with risk factors such as hepatitis B and C, alcoholic liver disease, and cirrhosis, prevention and early treatment are possible if managed well.” He said.
◇ Mainly occurs in people with preexisting conditions such as liver cirrhosis
The liver is an organ involved in the body’s metabolic processes and performs a very important function. When food is consumed, each tissue in the human body performs a metabolic function by appropriately converting it into the necessary nutrients and using them, and the remaining waste is transferred to the liver for processing. Even if a malignant tumor develops in the liver, symptoms rarely appear in the early stages. If symptoms such as pain in the upper abdomen, feeling a lump, jaundice, severe fatigue, or ascites in the abdomen appear, in most cases, liver cancer has already advanced significantly.
As such, liver cancer is a cancer with a poor prognosis if not detected in the early stages, but the good news is that the preceding diseases that occur before developing into cancer are relatively clear. In other words, it can be prevented if treated well in the preceding disease stage. According to the ‘2022 Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment Guidelines’ published by the Korean Liver Cancer Society, the main causes of liver cancer are hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and alcohol, in that order. In addition, fatty liver and autoimmune hepatitis are also considered causes. In particular, cirrhosis, in which normal liver tissue hardens due to chronic hepatitis and excessive drinking, is a representative preceding disease that greatly affects the development of liver cancer. It is known that liver cirrhosis occurs in approximately 80% of liver cancer patients, and the incidence of liver cancer increases significantly therefollowing. Therefore, if you are a high-risk group suffering from the disease, it is advisable to prevent liver cancer in advance through regular checkups.
Liver cancer is diagnosed through liver count blood tests, liver cancer tumor index (AFP), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT). High-risk patients with hepatitis or cirrhosis should regularly check whether liver cancer tumor index levels remain normal and whether there are any new lesions.
There are often no special symptoms until the liver’s function drops by more than half. If you have difficulty waking up in the morning even following getting enough sleep, feel extreme fatigue or fatigue, feel tightness or discomfort in the upper right abdomen, or suddenly feel weak from alcohol and take a long time to wake up, you should check your liver health.
◇ It is important to prevent hepatitis B and C, avoid excessive drinking
To prevent liver cancer, it is important to avoid hepatitis B and C above all else. It is known that regarding 75% of liver cancer patients in Korea have hepatitis B virus and close to 10% have hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination, but it is necessary to check whether antibodies have formed in the body following vaccination. Because there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, caution must be taken once morest infection through blood or secretions. Infection can also occur through shared use of nail clippers, razors, toothbrushes, syringes, etc., or through undisinfected needles, moxibustion, tattoos, etc.
Additionally, it is necessary to abstain from drinking alcohol to prevent alcoholic cirrhosis. In particular, if you have alcoholic liver disease, you must abstain from drinking because there is a high risk of developing liver cirrhosis. Recently, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis caused by overweight and lack of exercise is also known to be a cause of liver cancer, so metabolic syndrome should be prevented through appropriate physical activity and diet control.
Bu-won, director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Incheon Himchan General Hospital, said, “If you are over 40 years old and a carrier of hepatitis B or C virus, or have been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis regardless of age, you must undergo a checkup every six months.” He added, “Also, liver cancer requires surgery. Even following treatment, the two-year recurrence rate is high at over 40%, so even following liver cancer treatment, you should not let down your guard and get regular CT or MRI scans,” he advised.
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