Cancer roasted
Such a diagnosis always divides life into “before” and “after”. The patient throws all his strength into saving his life. Modern medicine will help to cope with the disease. We will tell you who is at risk, what are the symptoms of the disease and about the methods of treatment

What is liver cancer

Liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor that is localized in the liver. The neoplasm originates from liver cells or is a metastasis of another (primary) tumor. Mortality from this disease remains quite high.

Liver cancer has the following types:

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver. The result of malignancy (malignant transformation) of hepatocytes.
  • Angioplastic sarcoma (angiosarcoma) – the tumor develops very quickly, spreading to neighboring organs. A feature of sarcomas is their occurrence mainly in young people and in children.
  • Hepatobalstoma.
  • Hemangiosarcoma.
  • Cholangiocarcinoma – a tumor can form in any part of the duct.

Causes of Liver Cancer

The exact causes of liver cancer are not fully understood. The development of the disease can be influenced by the climate, and nutrition, and the intake of any medications. Also, cancer develops in people with cirrhosis of the liver, and cirrhosis affects those who abuse alcohol. Liver cancer can be detected at any age, more often they get sick after 40 years. One of the causes of the disease is hepatitis B and C, which last for a long time in a chronic form. Prolonged inflammation in the liver cells leads to mutations, which further leads to cancerous degeneration of cells. Accordingly, the longer a person has viral hepatitis, the greater the chances of getting sick.

Liver cancer symptoms

In the first stages, liver cancer is asymptomatic, often the patient finds out that he has cancer during routine follow-up. Many turn to the doctor with complaints of pain in the right hypochondrium, loss of appetite and rapid weight loss. The development of the disease can also be diagnosed by the yellow skin of the patient.

If the stomach hurts more and more, this indicates that there is already a rather large neoplasm in the stomach, which may have already begun to spread beyond the liver.

Elevated body temperature (above 37.5), which lasts for a long time and is not explained by other reasons, can also be attributed to the symptoms of liver cancer.

Many patients develop ascites, an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Its appearance in a patient with cirrhosis can be both a complication of the underlying disease and a sign of liver cancer.

Stages of liver cancer

Like any other type of cancer, liver cancer has four stages.

  • The first. With it, the size of the tumor does not exceed 2 cm. The neoplasm is located within the same area and must be removed surgically.
  • The second. Here, the cancer covers several parts of the body, but has not yet spread to nearby blood vessels or lymph nodes.
  • The third. Metastases move to nearby blood vessels or lymph nodes.
  • Fourth. In this case, the cancer spreads to other parts of the body. Tumors can reach any size and be present in any number. Blood vessels are also affected by cancer.

Treatment

Diagnostics

  • Ultrasound examination allows you to detect a tumor and in some cases determine its type.
  • Tumor biopsy This is the most reliable method for diagnosing liver cancer. With it, the doctor uses a thin long needle, which is inserted through the skin into the liver into the tumor area under the control of an ultrasound machine. If during the examination of the tumor site under a microscope, cancer cells are found, the diagnosis of liver cancer is considered confirmed.
  • Computed tomography (CT) – it is effective in the diagnosis of liver tumors and allows you to detect even small neoplasms that are invisible on ultrasound.
  • Laparoscopic method – it allows you to make an accurate and correct diagnosis. Through a small incision, under short-acting anesthesia, the doctor inserts a special device into the abdominal cavity, examines the tumor (on the monitor) and takes a piece of tissue for examination.
  • Blood test. The analyzes determine the levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) both at the stage of diagnosing liver tumors and after treatment to monitor the effectiveness of therapy and possible relapse of the disease.

Modern treatments

  • Surgical method. During the operation, the right or left lobe of the liver can be removed (hemihepatectomy), as well as two segments of the liver at once. The decision to operate is not immediately applied – the patient needs to undergo a comprehensive examination, including MSCT liver volumetry, ICG test, SPET-CT and dynamic liver scintigraphy. A consultation with an anesthesiologist is required.
  • Transplants baked. This is a type of surgical treatment in which the affected liver is replaced with a healthy donor transplant.
  • Chemotherapy – a method of systemic treatment, which involves taking medications that affect tumor cells, incl. inhibiting their growth; Immunotherapy is a type of medication that affects the body’s immune system in relation to the fight against tumor cells.

Prevention of liver cancer at home

  • timely vaccination against hepatitis B;
  • timely and high-quality treatment of hepatitis B and C;
  • treatment of alcoholism and complete rejection of alcohol;
  • regular monitoring by a hepatologist for patients with cirrhosis and chronic viral hepatitis (at least 2-3 times a year).

Popular questions and answers

Answers Dina Sakaeva, Deputy Head Physician in Oncology, Professor of the Department of Pharmacology with a Course in Clinical Pharmacology, Member of the Board of RUSSCO, Doctor of Medical Sciences:

Who is at risk?
The main causes of cancer are cirrhosis of the liver, which is caused by alcohol, or viral hepatitis B, C, D. Chronic alcohol intoxication, on average, forms cirrhosis 10-15 years after the onset of abuse. Viral hepatitis B, C, D can be autoimmune diseases with the development of hepatitis, diseases of the biliary tract, secondary cirrhosis of the liver. These are the main reasons. Sometimes there is also intoxication with chemicals, plant poisons. Therefore, people with cirrhosis and hepatitis are at risk.

This also includes people who eat raw fish, there may be flatworms, carriers of opistarchosis, which provokes liver cancer. Often this disease affects the population of China, South Africa.

How long do people live with stage 4 liver cancer?
Currently, modern treatment gives amazing results. I was in a clinic in Austria where I saw people with liver cancer who live for 7-8 years with the fourth stage of the disease. These drugs have also appeared in Russia, just the dynamics of monitoring these patients is much less. If earlier the prognosis of life was six months, now with hepatocellular carcinoma they can live for years.
How to eat during chemotherapy?
First of all, organize a balanced diet for yourself. It must include:

● Vegetables, berries and fruits. Organize yourself at least two snacks a day, in which you will eat fruits, and use vegetables as a side dish. Vegetables are useful both fresh, baked, and steamed;

● Chicken, fish, meat, eggs. It is very important to include enough quality protein in the diet, which can be obtained from this food group. In addition to proteins of animal origin, those that are of plant origin are also perfect – these are, first of all, legumes. Because of the treatment, many patients experience a change in taste sensations, and not everyone is ready to eat meat. If you don’t like it anymore, you can try eating it with a lot of different aromatic and mild spices. However, you can replace it with seafood or other sources of protein;

● Bread and cereals. In normal nutritional diets, these foods are considered potentially dangerous due to their high calorie content, but in chemotherapy they are great for breakfast;

● Dairy products. Products of this group should be present in the diet daily, preferably fermented milk.

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