Can liver function screening detect liver cancer? Which types of people are at high risk of liver cancer?

Liver cancer is a malignant tumor with a high incidence rate, high malignancy and poor prognosis. The most common is hepatocellular carcinoma, and its cause is closely related to genetics, environment and bad living habits. Nowadays, people have realized the importance of physical examinations and go to the hospital regularly for liver function tests. However, a considerable number of people have normal liver function test indicators, but they are diagnosed with liver cancer within half a year. What is going on?

Why can't liver function tests screen for liver cancer?

The liver is responsible for functions such as secretion, synthesis and metabolism. Liver function tests mainly look at indicators such as albumin, bilirubin and transaminase. Transaminase can indicate whether liver cells are damaged, albumin indicates synthesis function, and bilirubin indicates secretion function. Liver function tests can help us understand the extent of liver damage, but they cannot screen for tumors. Because the liver has a strong compensatory ability, even if only 1/3 of the liver is left, it can still maintain the most basic physiology. In the early stages of liver cancer, liver function is almost normal, so liver tumors cannot be detected early through liver function tests. Early screening methods for liver cancer are abdominal ultrasound and detection of alpha-fetoprotein in serum. Abdominal ultrasound examinations can detect liver tumors larger than 1 cm. If the alpha-fetoprotein index is persistently abnormal, liver cancer should be highly suspected.

Which types of people are at high risk of liver cancer?

1. People who often stay up late

Staying up late often can affect the liver's self-repair and reduce resistance. This is especially true for patients with chronic hepatitis B or C. After invading, the hepatitis B or C virus will continue to absorb nutrients from liver cells, replicate and multiply in large quantities, and over time induce an immune response, causing liver cell damage and necrosis.

2. Alcoholics and people with high body fat

A high-fat diet can increase the burden on the liver and reduce its ability to break down fat, thereby inducing severe fatty liver and increasing the risk of liver cancer. Most of the alcohol in the body is metabolized in the liver. Alcohol can affect the decomposition or metabolism of fatty acids by liver cells, causing too much fat to be deposited in the liver, which in turn causes fatty liver. If fatty liver is left untreated, it can develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer.

3. Chronic hepatitis

Repeated attacks of hepatitis can destroy the orderly structural arrangement of liver cells, cause changes in DNA genes, disrupt the entire internal structure of the liver, and thus induce liver cancer.

4. Family history of liver cancer

Liver cancer has a certain genetic tendency. If there is a case of liver cancer in the family, then the risk of cancer is also relatively high.

Kind tips

Although liver function tests cannot screen for liver cancer, it does not mean that liver function tests are meaningless. Frequent alcohol abuse and long-term drug use can easily cause diffuse liver damage. Liver function tests can detect lesions in time and intervene early to avoid the development of liver cancer. People with chronic hepatitis, severe fatty liver, and a family history of liver cancer should go to the hospital regularly for abdominal color Doppler ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein tests.