Does blushing after drinking alcohol increase the risk of liver cancer? What are the reasonable methods to treat liver cancer?

Does blushing after drinking increase the risk of liver cancer?

Studies have shown that alcohol metabolism in the human body is completed through acetaldehyde deoxygenase 2 (ALDH2). The function of acetaldehyde deoxygenase 2 in the human body is to oxidize acetaldehyde into acetic acid, which is not carcinogenic, and finally decompose it into carbon dioxide and water that are harmless to the human body and excreted from the body. However, when the normal gene of acetaldehyde deoxygenase 2 mutates, the enzyme will lose its activity, resulting in a more than 6-fold increase in the concentration of acetaldehyde in the blood after drinking. Long-term alcoholism will accumulate acetaldehyde in the body, which may eventually lead to liver cancer. The results showed that among those with enzyme deficiency, the risk of liver cancer is 3.51 times that of normal gene carriers and non-drinkers if the monthly drinking volume exceeds 3 kilograms; as the total amount of alcohol consumed by the former increases throughout their lives, their risk of liver cancer shows a clear upward trend. We all know that excessive drinking is the cause of liver cancer, so to prevent liver cancer, we should drink less.

Experts told reporters that studies have found that carriers of the acetaldehyde deoxygenase 2 gene variant often experience neurological symptoms such as flushing, nausea and tachycardia after drinking. Therefore, if you have the above symptoms after drinking, you should be vigilant, quit drinking or try to reduce your alcohol intake to prevent the occurrence of liver cancer.

Does mixing alcohol with alcohol increase the risk of liver cancer?

The recent popular phenomenon of "mixing red wine, white wine and beer" has caused great concern among health experts, because a large number of studies in developed countries such as Europe and the United States have shown that alcohol is closely related to liver cancer, and that people who drink mixed drinks have a five times higher chance of developing liver cancer than those who drink mild alcohol or do not drink alcohol.

This is because the alcohol content of various alcoholic beverages is different. Drinking beer one moment and liquor the next, or wine the next, is difficult for the body to adapt to such constant changes. More importantly, the composition of various alcoholic beverages is not the same. For example, beer contains carbon dioxide and a large amount of water. Mixing it with liquor will accelerate the penetration of alcohol throughout the body, and the stimulation and harm to organs such as the liver, stomach, and kidneys will be more intense.

What are the reasonable methods to treat liver cancer?

Liver cancer should be treated with comprehensive treatment, with surgery as the main approach, and individualized plans should be adopted for specific patients. For patients with good physical condition, mild liver cirrhosis, and small tumors, surgical resection is the first choice. If surgical resection is not possible and the lesion is relatively localized, surgical transvascular treatment and local surgical treatment can be selected. Over the past half century, due to the progress in medical imaging, local cancer treatment, cell biology and molecular biology, people have made great progress in the understanding, research, diagnosis, and treatment of liver cancer. In particular, the rapid development of molecular biology has provided many potential clinical pathways. Research on liver cancer has made great progress in epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. The concept of the etiology of liver cancer has been updated, diagnosis has changed from difficult to easy, treatment has changed from a single surgical approach to a comprehensive application of multiple methods, and prognosis has changed from incurable to partially curable.

Surgery still plays a dominant role in the treatment of liver cancer. In recent years, liver cancer surgery has made a lot of progress based on new theories, new technologies and new concepts. In the past, based on the single resection of large liver cancer, there have been resections of small liver cancers that can significantly improve the efficacy, resections of subclinical recurrences that can significantly prolong the survival period after resection, and "resection of unresectable liver cancer after shrinkage" that provides a way out for some unresectable large liver cancers.

In recent years, surgical treatment of liver cancer with large lesions that cannot be removed has received attention. It is divided into vascular treatment and local treatment through surgery. The former includes hepatic artery ligation (HAL), hepatic artery catheterization (HAI), portal vein catheterization and their combined application. For liver cancer that cannot be removed, if the cirrhosis is not too severe, HAL+HAI is a desirable treatment. Through hepatic artery catheterization, chemotherapy drugs, guided drugs, biological therapeutic agents or embolic agents can be injected. Local treatment through surgery, such as: -196℃ liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, usually rapid freezing and slow thawing, can cause tissue necrosis in the ice ball; in addition, there are microwaves, high-power lasers, intraoperative intratumoral anhydrous ethanol injection, etc. This can give some patients the opportunity for secondary treatment and prolong the survival of a considerable number of patients. Our department has recently taken the lead in carrying out intrahepatic vascular selective treatment in China, and achieved good results.

Radiointerventional chemoembolization is a major advance in the non-surgical treatment of liver cancer in recent years. In 1953, Seldinger pioneered the use of percutaneous femoral artery puncture for arteriography. Now, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has surpassed radiotherapy and become the preferred method of non-surgical treatment, suitable for the treatment of unresectable liver cancer. Since the blood supply of liver cancer mostly comes from the hepatic artery, embolization of the hepatic artery can cause most of the cancer to necrotize. However, the blood supply around the cancer nodule comes from the portal vein, and it is difficult to cure it with TAE alone, so portal vein and hepatic artery staged treatment can be adopted.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous puncture local treatment has developed rapidly, including intratumoral anhydrous ethanol injection (pEI), radiofrequency therapy, cryotherapy, microwave therapy, intratumoral acetic acid injection, intratumoral hot saline injection, etc. Among them, ultrasound-guided percutaneous puncture intratumoral anhydrous ethanol injection has become an effective treatment for unresectable small liver cancer. The advantages of these treatment methods are less trauma and faster patient recovery; the disadvantages are the hidden danger of insufficient treatment range, easy recurrence, and poor prognosis.

Radiotherapy for liver cancer has evolved from whole liver radiation, local radiation, whole liver moving strip radiation, local hyperfractionated radiation, and stereoradiation. Radiotherapy is suitable for liver cancer that is still localized and cannot be removed. Usually, if a larger dose can be tolerated, the effect is also better. Our hospital has also achieved good results in treating liver cancer that cannot be surgically removed using X-knife.

At present, interferon (IFN), interleukin 2 (IL-2), lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK), tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), etc. are commonly used in clinical practice, but the efficacy of various biological therapeutic agents used still needs more practice and research to address the problem of uncertain clinical efficacy.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Since most patients cannot have liver cancer removed, conservative treatment is still the main treatment method for most patients. The main mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine in treating liver cancer are: (1) improving immune function. (2) improving microcirculation. For example, traditional Chinese medicine as the main treatment method for liver cancer usually advocates syndrome differentiation and treatment.

Liver cancer should be treated with comprehensive treatment, with surgery as the main approach. Individualized plans should be adopted for specific patients. After the patient is diagnosed, the first step is to determine whether surgery is possible. For patients with good physical condition, mild liver cirrhosis, and small tumors, surgical resection is the first choice. If surgical resection is not possible and the lesion is relatively localized, surgical transvascular treatment and local surgical treatment can be selected. If the lesion is extensive, interventional treatment can be selected. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous local treatment is suitable for patients with small lesions that are easy to puncture, patients with poor physical condition, patients who cannot tolerate surgery, and patients with recurrence. X-knife is particularly suitable for patients with obstructive jaundice caused by tumor compression. The role of traditional Chinese medicine treatment should be correctly understood: (1) As the main treatment for patients in the middle and late stages. (2) As an adjuvant therapy for surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.