Understanding Liver Malignancy: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options
Liver cancer arises from abnormal cell growth in the liver, either primary or metastatic. It is difficult to diagnose early, and symptoms include jaundice, pain, and fatigue. Treatment options like transplant, radiation, chemotherapy, and ablative therapies are available. Risk factors include alcohol use, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hereditary conditions. Early detection is key to better management and survival. Understanding causes and symptoms helps in timely intervention, but prognosis remains challenging in advanced stages.
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Liver malignancy refers to the unchecked growth of cancer cells within the liver. It can develop as a primary tumor in the liver itself or spread from another part of the body, known as metastasis. Primary liver cancer originates in the liver, while secondary cases result from cancer spreading from elsewhere. Since the liver is a vital organ with many essential functions, cancer here can be life-threatening. Early detection is challenging, often leading to late-stage diagnosis. Treatments include transplant, radiation, chemotherapy, and ablative therapies.
Factors such as alcohol consumption, cirrhosis, hepatitis C, exposure to toxins, and hereditary conditions increase risk. Symptoms typically appear in advanced stages, including loss of appetite, nausea, upper right abdominal pain, skin and eye jaundice, itching, fatigue, and chalky stool. Diagnosis is often late due to subtle early signs. Treatment options, though limited in curability, include liver transplants, radiation therapy to destroy tumors, targeted chemotherapy, and ablative procedures involving laser or radio waves. Early intervention can improve outcomes.
