Liver Cancer

Every year, about 28,600 men and 12,660 women are diagnosed with liver cancer or intrahepatic bile duct cancer in the United States — figures almost triple what they were in 1980. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common form of primary liver cancer in the country, accounting for three in four liver cancer cases.

What Is Liver Cancer?

Liver cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the liver’s cells. The liver is the body’s largest solid organ, situated in the upper right of the abdomen, underneath the diaphragm, and above the stomach. The liver plays a critical role in the body’s detoxification and metabolic processes and supports immune system functions. Without a liver, a person cannot survive.

Several types of cancer can grow in the liver, the most common of which is hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma starts in the hepatocyte, the main cell type found in the liver. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, hepatoblastoma, and other liver cancers are less common.

What Is Primary and Secondary Liver Cancer?

Primary liver cancer is a tumor that begins in the liver. Primary liver cancers include:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or hepatoma, the most common type of liver cancer that begins in the liver’s main cells
• Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, which develops in the cells that line the bile ducts
• Angiosarcoma, which is a rare type of liver cancer that starts in the blood vessels

Secondary liver cancer is a cancer that begins in another part of the body and spreads to the liver. Secondary liver cancers are generally named after the origin site, such as the bowel.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cancer?

In the early stages of primary liver cancer, symptoms are uncommon. However, as the disease progresses, patients may experience the following signs:

• Fatigue and muscle weakness
• Jaundice, in which the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellowish
• Lack of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pain in the abdomen
• Unexplained weight loss

What Are the Causes and Risk Factors for Liver Cancer?

Live cancer occurs when cells in the liver develop mutations in their DNA, changing their behavior. Sometimes, mutations cause cells to grow out of control. Continued rapid growth eventually leads to a mass of cancerous cells called a tumor.

In some cases, the cause of liver cancer is an infection, such as a chronic hepatitis infection. In other cases, liver cancer affects people with no underlying health issues, so the cause is unknown.

The risk factors that can increase a person’s likelihood of developing liver cancer include:

• Aflatoxins, which are poisons created by molds that grow on crops like nuts and grains
• Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection
• Cirrhosis, a progressive condition that leads to scar tissue in the liver
• Diabetes, a blood sugar disorder
• Excessive alcohol consumption, which can lead to irreversible liver damage
• Inherited liver diseases, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson's disease
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a build-up of fat in the liver

How Is Liver Cancer Staged?

Liver cancer is staged between stage I and stage IV — the lower the stage number, the less the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. A higher stage number indicates the cancer has grown into distant body parts, tissues, and organs.

Liver cancer is staged using one of several systems, and not all doctors adhere to the same one. In the United States, the most commonly used system is the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system, which draws on three critical data points:

1. The size of the tumor, represented by the letter T: This indicates how much the cancer has grown, whether or not there is more than one tumor, and whether the cancer has spread to nearby structures.
2. The spread to lymph nodes, represented by the letter N: This shows whether the cancer has spread into nearby lymph nodes.
3. Metastasis to distant areas of the body, represented by the letter M: This details whether the cancer has spread to distant organs and body structures, such as the lungs or bones.

The higher the number in each category, the more advanced the cancer has become. Typically, higher-stage liver cancer is more difficult to treat.

How We Treat Liver Cancer Holistically

Within the context of conventional oncology, surgical intervention is typically regarded as the most effective treatment option. Surgical interventions include liver transplantation, percutaneous ablation, and liver resection. However, due to lesions and metastasis, just one in five liver cancer patients are suitable candidates for surgery. Chemotherapy drugs for liver cancer are limited in their use, and complications such as drug resistance, recurrence, and hepatotoxicity — in addition to adverse side effects that limit quality of life — lead many patients to seek alternative, natural, and holistic therapies.

Between 30 and 50 percent of all cancers are preventable, and evidence suggests that many natural products are potential sources of liver cancer treatment. At Brio-Medical, we connect liver cancer patients to leading-edge, non-toxic cancer treatments and therapies.

Whether you are just beginning your treatment journey or looking to improve your quality of life alongside conventional therapies, we can help. Reach out to our patient care coordinator team today for personalized support and advice.

Resources:

• "Key Statistics About Liver Cancer." American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/liver-cancer/about/what-is-key-statistics.html. Accessed September 9, 2022.
• "Liver Cancer Stages." American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/liver-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/staging.html. Accessed September 9, 2022.
• "Cancer Staging." American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/treatment/understanding-your-diagnosis/staging.html. Accessed September 9, 2022.
• Balogh, Julius et al. “Hepatocellular carcinoma: a review.” Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma vol. 3 41-53. 5 Oct. 2016, doi:10.2147/JHC.S61146
• Kerschbaum, Eva, and Volkmar Nüssler. “Cancer Prevention with Nutrition and Lifestyle.” Visceral medicine vol. 35,4 (2019): 204-209. doi:10.1159/000501776
• Khan, Adeel S, and Leigh Anne Dageforde. “Cholangiocarcinoma.” The Surgical clinics of North America vol. 99,2 (2019): 315-335. doi:10.1016/j.suc.2018.12.004
• Lotfollahzadeh, Saran, et al. “Liver Cancer.” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 10 July 2022.
• Young, Robin J et al. “Angiosarcoma.” The Lancet. Oncology vol. 11,10 (2010): 983-91. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70023-1
• Zhou, Yue et al. “Dietary Natural Products for Prevention and Treatment of Liver Cancer.” Nutrients vol. 8,3 156. 10 Mar. 2016, doi:10.3390/nu8030156