What to eat to prevent liver cancer? 10 types of people are more likely to get liver cancer

Liver cancer is highly malignant and progresses quickly. Patients usually do not feel any discomfort in the early stages. Once symptoms appear, they are often in the middle or late stages. Therefore, it is difficult to treat and has poor efficacy. Generally, the survival time after onset is only 6 months. It is known as the "king of cancer". In my country, 110,000 people die of liver cancer each year, including 80,000 men and 30,000 women, accounting for 45% of the deaths from liver cancer worldwide. As the most common malignant tumor, the mortality rate of liver cancer is second only to gastric cancer.

Liver cancer is so prevalent, which groups of people need to pay special attention?

Liver cancer incidence group 1. People with a family history of liver cancer

On the one hand, many inherited diseases that damage the liver, such as pigmentation disease and glycogen storage disease, will develop into cirrhosis, and the incidence of liver cancer is also very high; on the other hand, it is believed that the familial clustering of liver cancer is mainly caused by the clustering of hepatitis B virus. There is currently no evidence that liver cancer can be inherited.

2. Patients with post-hepatitis cirrhosis

More than 50% of patients with cirrhosis develop cancer, and most of them have recurrent symptoms, poor liver function improvement, and frequent complications such as ascites.

3. People living in areas with a high incidence of liver cancer

The high incidence areas of liver cancer in China are mainly in the southeastern coastal areas, such as Fusui and Longan in Guangxi, Xiamen and Tongan in Fujian, Qidong and Haimen in Jiangsu, Chongming and Nanhui in Shanghai, etc. In these areas, at least 30 people die of liver cancer per 100,000 people. In addition, the incidence of liver cancer is higher in coastal areas than in inland areas, and higher in southeastern and northeastern regions than in southwest and northwest regions.

4. Long-term alcoholism

Long-term alcohol abuse can significantly damage liver cells and lead to malnutrition, making the liver prone to cirrhosis, which can develop into liver cancer. Of course, in addition to the above dietary factors, hepatitis B, parasitic diseases in the liver (such as Clonorchis sinensis), and genetic susceptibility are also closely related to the occurrence of liver cancer. It should be pointed out here that when the above two factors come into play, liver cancer is more likely to occur, such as hepatitis B and aflatoxin exposure, which will cause the disease faster.

Alcohol poisoning can also cause alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. In alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis, the number of Kupffer cells decreases, which can increase the occurrence of liver cell cancer.

5. People living in difficult conditions

The occurrence of liver cancer has an occupational characteristic, and farmers have the highest incidence and mortality rates. Some people say that in China, liver cancer and stomach cancer are diseases caused by poverty, and people with poor economic conditions are more likely to suffer from "liver cancer", which makes sense.

6. Gene mutation

Mutagens and viruses in the environment stimulate the activation of liver cell division response pathways, causing point mutations and gene translocations in cells, which are possible factors that accelerate the proliferation of cancer cells.

7. Drinking water is unhealthy

Water is an important substance for maintaining the normal survival of human organisms. Water itself certainly does not cause tumors, but epidemiological surveys have shown that the degree of drinking water pollution is positively correlated with the incidence of liver cancer. This undoubtedly indicates that there are carcinogens in the water source, and it may be the combined effect of multiple carcinogens, such as humic acid, blue-green algae toxins, etc.

8. Eating food contaminated by Aspergillus flavus

More than 30 years ago, a farm in the UK fed turkeys with peanut cake that was moldy due to Aspergillus flavus, which caused the death of 100,000 chicks. Epidemiological studies have shown that the geographical distribution of liver cancer in my country is basically consistent with the distribution of aflatoxin contamination. In areas where grain, oil and food are seriously contaminated by aflatoxin B1, the incidence and mortality of liver cancer are also high.

Aflatoxin is a carcinogen that grows and reproduces in hot and humid environments. If humans eat moldy grains for a long time in the summer, they will be infected with aflatoxin and liver cancer will occur.

9. Excessive intake of nitrosamine compounds

Dimethylnitrosamine has been isolated from the food of residents in South Africa, a high-risk area for liver cancer. This type of compound can also cause other tumors such as esophageal cancer. Therefore, nitrosamine compounds are also classified as one of the causes of liver cancer.

10. Intake of too little trace elements

Current research on the relationship between trace elements and liver cancer has found that the mortality rate from liver cancer is negatively correlated with the selenium content in the environment and with the blood selenium level of residents. Animal experiments have shown that selenium can block aflatoxin-induced liver cancer in rats and ducks.

Milk and fruit can prevent liver cancer

Italian researchers recently found that certain foods, such as milk and fruit, seem to reduce the risk of liver cancer. The researchers pointed out that diet has a certain correlation with this type of cancer, and for other types of cancer, especially fruits and vegetables seem to have a protective effect.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute compared 185 liver cancer patients with 412 non-cancer patients. A questionnaire survey of the participants' diet showed that the risk of liver cancer gradually decreased with the increase in the types of food intake. After evaluating other factors that may affect the risk of liver cancer, the researchers found that consuming a large amount of milk and yogurt can reduce the risk of liver cancer by 78%.

The researchers believe that the results of this study are beneficial to patients infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses. Therefore, in order to prevent liver cancer, people should adopt a correct diet and increase the intake of vegetables and fruits; it is also important to drink less alcoholic beverages. In addition, safe sex and refusing to share needles should be adopted to prevent hepatitis infection.