10 Most Common Risk Factors of Liver Cancer!!!

The Liver continuously filters blood that circulates through the body, converting nutrients and drugs absorbed from the digestive tract into ready-to-use chemicals. The liver performs many other important functions, such as removing toxins and other chemical waste products from the blood and readying them for excretion. Because all the blood in the body must pass through it, the liver is unusually accessible to cancer cells travelling in the bloodstream.

When cancer develops in the liver, the cells change and grow in an abnormal way. As the cancer grows it forms a group of cells called a tumor. This tumor can cause a blockage and result in symptoms like pain and jaundice. When cancer starts in the liver, it is called primary liver cancer. But when cancer starts somewhere else in the body and spreads to the liver, it is called secondary liver cancer.

10 Most Common Risk Factors of Liver Cancer are :-

 

1. Chronic viral hepatitis – Worldwide, the most common risk factor for liver cancer is long-term (chronic) infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). These infections lead to cirrhosis and are common in many parts of the world. These viruses can spread from person to person through sharing dirty needles (such as in drug use), unprotected sex, or childbirth. They can also be passed on through blood transfusions, since the start of blood product testing for these viruses. People with hepatitis A or hepatitis E infection do not have an increased risk of liver cancer.

2. Alcohol – Liver damage is the most familiar hazard of excessive alcohol consumption. Cirrhosis is a common step on the way to liver cancer.

3. Obesity – Excess weight is also associated with a higher mortality rate from this cancer. Rising rates of obesity may contribute to the increase in liver cancer rates. Having an unhealthy body mass index increases the risk of liver cancer.

4. Inherited metabolic diseases – Certain inherited metabolic diseases can lead to cirrhosis. People with hemochromatosis absorb too much iron from their food. The iron settles in tissues throughout the body, including the liver. If enough iron builds up in the liver, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. There are also other rare diseases that increase the risk of liver cancer.

5. Diet – Red meat and high iron intake are associated with increased liver cancer risk, while vegetables and dairy products are associated with lower risk. Coffee is strongly associated with a lower risk. This could indicate that coffee has some protective benefit; however, coffee metabolism is impaired in cirrhotic livers, so it may be that people who are already at risk for liver cancer find coffee unpleasant.

6. Diabetes –People with this blood sugar disorder have a greater risk of liver cancer than do people who don’t have diabetes

7. Smoking – Some studies have found a link between smoking and liver cancer, but this has been hard to study because people who smoke are also more likely to drink alcohol. The link between smoking and liver cancer seems to be strongest among people with viral hepatitis or who drink a lot of alcohol.

8. Oral contraceptives – There is some evidence that long-term (more than five years) use of oral contraceptives may increase the risk of liver cancer. More research is needed in this area.

9. Betel quid -This is the nut of the Areca catechu palm, and is commonly chewed in some parts of the world.

10. Aflatoxin – These cancer-causing substances are made by a fungus that can get into peanuts, wheat, soybeans, ground nuts, corn, and rice. Long-term exposure to aflatoxins can increase the risk of liver cancer.

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