Saturday 22 February 2014

What Is Liver Cancer? What Causes Liver Cancer?

What Is Liver Cancer? What Causes Liver Cancer?
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer is a cancer which starts in the liver, and not from another organ which eventually migrates to the liver. In other words, there may be cancers which start from somewhere else and end up in the liver - those are not (primary) liver cancers.

Cancers that originate elsewhere and eventually reach the liver are known as liver metastasis or secondary liver cancers, and are most commonly from cancer of the GI tract (colon cancer), lung cancer, renal cancer (kidney cancer), ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Cancers that originate in the liver are known as primary liver cancers.

The liver, which is located below the right lung and under the ribcage is one of the largest organs of the human body. It is divided into the right and left lobes. Nutrient-rich blood is carried by the portal vein from the intestines to the liver, while oxygen-rich blood reaches the liver from the hepatic artery.

All vertebrates (animals with a spinal column) have a liver, as do some other animals. The liver has a range of functions, including detoxification (getting rid of toxins), synthesizing proteins, breaking down fats,, and producing biochemicals that are essential for digestion. We cannot survive without a liver.

Liver cancer consists of malignant hepatic tumors (growths) in or on the liver.

The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (or hepatoma or HCC), and it tends to affect males more than females. According to the National Health Service (NHS), UK, approximately 1,500 people in the United Kingdom die from HCC each year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that liver cancer as a cause of death is reported at less than 30 cases per 100,000 people worldwide, with rates in parts of Africa and Eastern Asia being particularly high.

Experts say that common causes of HCC are regular high alcohol consumption, having unprotected sex and injecting drugs with shared needles.

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