Why do people get liver cancer? What are the symptoms of liver cancer?

Why do people get liver cancer? Nowadays, many types of cancer are becoming younger and younger, and liver cancer is one of them. Regarding liver cancer, what we need to know is the causes and symptoms, which are the basic knowledge of liver cancer. Here, let's introduce these two points to you.

Causes of liver cancer

Dietary factors: Usually, the occurrence of liver cancer is closely related to the patient's usual living habits. Long-term consumption of moldy food, food containing nitrosamines, and lack of trace element selenium are important causes of liver cancer. Aflatoxin B1 is a substance that has been proven to have a clear carcinogenic effect. It is mainly found in moldy food, such as corn, peanuts, rice, etc. In addition, when a large amount of food containing nitrite is consumed, nitrite accumulates in the body and cannot be discharged in time, and can be converted into nitrosamines in the body. Foods with high nitrite content are mainly smoked or salted meat products, which have a clear carcinogenic effect. At the same time, the cause of liver cancer is also related to genetic factors, parasitic infections and other factors.

Chronic liver disease: Medical data show that more than 30% of patients have a history of chronic hepatitis, and more than half of them are Australia antibody-positive, so hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are considered to be one of the causes of liver cancer, which is the cause of the disease.

Viral hepatitis: According to epidemiological statistics, areas where hepatitis B is prevalent are often also high-incidence areas for liver cancer. People who have had hepatitis B are 10 times more likely to develop liver cancer than those who have not. Long-term clinical observations have found that hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer are a trilogy of continuous migration and evolution. Recent studies have shown that viral hepatitis related to the cause of liver cancer mainly includes hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (BCV), among which hepatitis B is the most common. This is also an important cause of liver cancer.

Water pollution: Long-term drinking of seriously polluted water can easily induce cancer, especially polluted ditch water, followed by river water, and finally well water. Therefore, in villages without tap water facilities, drinking well water should be encouraged.

So, what are the symptoms after suffering from liver cancer?

Common symptoms of liver cancer

Decreased resistance: Liver cancer can cause a series of digestive system symptoms in patients, including anorexia, indigestion, weight loss, decreased physical fitness, decreased resistance and immunity, and other serious problems. This can easily lead to various forms of infection in patients, making their treatment more troublesome.

Rupture and bleeding of liver cancer nodules: Necrosis and liquefaction of primary liver cancer tissue can cause spontaneous rupture or rupture due to external force. If it is confined to the subcapsular membrane, there may be sudden pain and the liver will rapidly enlarge. If it ruptures into the abdominal cavity, it will cause acute abdominal pain and peritoneal irritation. In severe cases, it may cause hemorrhagic shock or death. For patients with mild primary liver cancer, bleeding stops after a few days and the pain gradually subsides.

Acute abdomen: Rupture of cancerous nodules usually causes pain in the liver area. During physical examination, there is obvious tenderness in the liver area, which is a symptom of liver capsule irritation. After the rupture of cancerous nodules, some patients experience acute abdominal pain accompanied by peritoneal irritation symptoms, which can be easily misdiagnosed as acute peritonitis. Abdominal pain caused by rupture of cancerous nodules is usually accompanied by a drop in blood pressure or even shock, which is different from general acute peritonitis.

Bleeding tendency: Liver cancer can also cause patients to show a more obvious bleeding tendency. Patients will have problems such as bleeding gums and subcutaneous ecchymosis. In more serious cases, it can also lead to gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastrointestinal bleeding is a very important cause of death in liver cancer patients.

Lower limb edema: Patients with liver cancer and ascites often have lower limb edema, which can occur at the ankles in mild cases and spread to the entire lower limbs in severe cases. The main cause is ascites compressing the lower limb veins or cancer thrombus blocking the venous return. Mild edema can also be caused by low plasma albumin.

If you have symptoms of liver cancer, you must seek treatment promptly.