What is liver cancer, what are the symptoms and survival rate of the condition and what is hepatoblastoma?
LIVER cancer is fairly rare in the UK but incidence rates have increased 236 per cent over the past four decades, according to Cancer Research UK.
On average, over 100 people a day are diagnosed with liver cancer in Britain and there are over 5,000 deaths each year - so it is important to know the warning signs.
What is liver cancer?
Liver cancer is the 14th most common cancer in males (2 per cent) and the 19th most common in females (1 per cent), writes Cancer Research UK.
And there are two broad categories of liver cancer, one is primary, which means the disease begins in the liver.
The other is secondary, which is when it's developed in another part of the body and spread.
There are two main types of primary cancer, one is called Hepatoma, also called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
The other is Biliary tree cancer, which includes cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and gallbladder cancer.
Treatment for the condition can include surgery, chemotherapy or even a liver transplant.
What are the symptoms of liver cancer?
Liver cancer can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms are often vague and sometimes they only appear at an advanced stage.
However, there are some more common symptoms which you may notice, these include:
- Fatigue (tiredness) and weakness
- A general feeling of poor health
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting
- Unexpected loss of weight
- Pain or discomfort over the liver area (place your right hand over the lower right hand side of your ribs and it will just about cover the area of your liver)
- Itchy skin
- Fine blood vessels visible on the skin in a radial pattern resembling the legs of a spider (known as spider naevi)
- Enlarged and tender liver (you may feel tender below your right ribs)
- Dark urine/grey pale stools (faeces)
- Loss of sex drive (libido).
If you notice these symptoms seek medical advice
- Skin and eyes turning yellow (jaundice) – often the first and sometimes the only sign of liver disease
- Swelling of the abdomen, which can be due to the growing cancer itself or a build up of fluid within the abdomen (ascites)
- Fever with high temperatures and shivers
- Vomiting blood
- Dark black tarry stools (faeces)
What is the treatment of liver cancer?
The treatment for liver cancer depends on when the condition is diagnosed, if it's early it could be possible to remove the cancer completely.
There are two options for early diagnosis, one is surgical resection, which means the diseased section of your liver is removed.
Another is a liver transplant, which is when a healthy matching donor is found and replaces the diseased organ.
Or another option is microwave or radiofrequency ablation where microwaves or radio waves are used to destroy the cancerous cells.
Unfortunately it isn't often these treatments can be uses because in most liver cancer cases, the disease is only diagnosed when it has spread too far to be removed or completely destroyed.
The majority of sufferers have to endure gruelling chemotherapy to slow down the spreading of the cancer and relieve the pain and discomfort.
What is hepablastoma?
Hepablastoma is a very rare type of liver cancer that usually affects children under the age of five.
It causes a tumour to form in the cells of the liver and if not caught early enough, the cancer can spread to the lungs.
The condition is more common in children who are born very premature and seems to affect boys more than girls.
The exact cause of hepablastoma is unknown but children at an increased risk of developing the cancer include those who have been exposed to hepatitis B or C.
It is believed that Michael Buble's young son Noah, who was diagnosed with liver cancer last year, had suffered from hepablastoma.
However, only around 10 to 15 children are diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK.
Symptoms of the disease can vary, but they include:
- A swollen abdomen
- Weight loss and decreased appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Jaundice
- Fever
- Itching skin
What is the survival rate of liver cancer?
According to Cancer Research UK's statistics, a quarter of people in England diagnosed with liver cancer aged 15-39 will survive for five years or more.
However, this is compared to only around five in 100 people diagnosed with the disease aged 80 or over according to 2009-2013 statistics.
The charity notes these figures relate to primary liver cancer in adults, adding: “Primary liver cancer in children is very rare, and their outlook is better than it is for adults.”
To find out more visit Cancer Research UK.
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