OCTOBER – Liver Cancer Awareness Month
The liver is one of the largest organs in our body. It cleanses the blood of harmful substances, produces bile to aid in fat digestion, and stores sugar used for energy production.
- Primary liver cancer is relatively rare. Only about 1 in every 100 diagnosed cancer cases is a primary liver cancer.
- Liver cancer is more common in men.
- There are two main types of primary liver cancer in adults: hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma.
- Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type.
The most common risk factors for liver cancer include hepatitis virus infection (especially Hepatitis B and C), obesity-related fatty liver disease, a family history of liver cancer, and smoking. People infected with Hepatitis B or C virus have a higher risk of developing liver cancer—particularly if they also smoke.
Symptoms of primary liver cancer:
- Unexplained and significant weight loss, loss of appetite, feeling full or bloated after eating, abdominal pain, yellowish skin (jaundice), dark urine, pale stools, and itching.
- Although these symptoms may also occur in other conditions, you should consult your doctor if you experience them.
Treatment options for liver cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and interventional radiology. However, liver transplantation can only be performed in suitable patients with the ‘hepatocellular carcinoma’ type of primary liver cancer. In such cases, liver transplantation provides far more successful results than other treatment methods.
Over the past 20 years, the percentage of cancer cases among patients on liver transplant waiting lists has increased from around 6% to 22%. The rise in liver inflammation and fatty liver disease in recent years is largely responsible for this increase.
Every October is Liver Cancer Awareness Month. This is an important public health initiative because approximately 300 million people worldwide are living with Hepatitis B, putting them at significant risk of developing liver cancer.
- Karaciğer kanseri en sık görülen tipi primer karaciğer kanseri (HCC )
- En sık risk faktörü de Hepatit B virüsü
- Tüm karaciğer kanserlerinde %80 sebep kronik Hep B enfeksiyonu
- Obezite, alkol, yağlı karaciğer(NASH, NAFLD) ve bazı metabolik hast diğer sebepler arasında
- Enfeksiyon atakları karaciğere zarar verir ve bu ilerde kansere neden olabilecek sirozla sonuçlanır.
- Kanser siroz olmadan da gelişebilir.
- En önemli önleyici Hep B virüs infeksiyonunun önlenmesi => Tabii ki aşılanma
