Does elevated alpha-fetoprotein mean liver cancer? What are the surgical methods for treating liver cancer?

Liver cancer is a relatively dangerous malignant tumor and a common disease of the digestive system. In recent years, due to people's bad living habits, the incidence of liver cancer has become increasingly high, posing a threat to people's lives. Therefore, we hope to be able to screen early, detect early, and treat early, so as to reduce the impact of the disease on our bodies as much as possible. Now, we invite Zhang Lei, chief physician of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, to answer questions related to liver cancer, hoping to be helpful to everyone.

Could elevated alpha-fetoprotein mean liver cancer?

High alpha-fetoprotein levels do not necessarily mean liver cancer. Alpha-fetoprotein is an oncological indicator of liver cancer, but it does not necessarily mean liver cancer. There is a standard for diagnosing liver cancer. It must be more than 400 grams per milliliter for more than two consecutive weeks to be diagnosed with liver cancer. In fact, many patients with liver diseases, including pregnant women and patients with some reproductive system diseases, may also have elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels. Therefore, we should be vigilant when alpha-fetoprotein levels are elevated, but it does not necessarily mean liver cancer.

What are the surgical methods for treating liver cancer?

There are two surgical methods for treating liver cancer: liver resection and liver transplantation. There are many surgical methods for treating liver cancer, and surgery is the most important one. Because the main treatment for liver cancer is surgery. Generally speaking, there are two surgical methods: liver resection and liver transplantation. Liver resection is the removal of the tumor. Liver cancer can be cured in the early stage, and the five-year survival rate can reach 80%.

Will partial liver resection have any impact on the health of liver cancer patients?

There are still some short-term effects on the body after partial liver resection of liver cancer patients. Because the liver is a very important organ in the human body, a thorough assessment of the patient's liver function will be made before liver resection to estimate the extent to which the remaining liver can maintain the body's daily needs after part of the liver is removed. In the short period of time after the operation, there may be some damage to the liver function, but the liver has a strong compensatory ability and it will compensate to a normal level. Therefore, as long as the patient recovers from the operation, the liver function can reach the level of normal people.

At present, the treatment of liver cancer is still mainly surgery. After surgical resection, patients can also play their original functions after reasonable nursing. However, if we want to prevent the recurrence of the disease, we must pay more attention to our daily life, especially in diet. We should eat light food and avoid spicy food. Also, smoking and drinking less can play a certain role.