Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Can you die from liver cancer?
Primary liver cancer is globally the sixth most frequent cancer (6%) and the second leading cause of death from cancer (9%).[3][7] In 2012 it occurred in 782,000 people and in 2015 resulted in 810,500 deaths.[7][6] In 2015, 263,000 deaths from liver cancer were due to hepatitis B, 167,000 to hepatitis C, and 245,000 to alcohol.[6] Higher rates of liver cancer occur where hepatitis B and C are common, including Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.[3] Males are more often affected with HCC than females.[3] Diagnosis is most frequent among those 55 to 65 years old.[2] Five-year survival rates are 18% in the United States.[2] The word "hepatic" is from the Greek hêpar, meaning "liver".[8]
The AASLD further recommends for patients with a cirrhotic NASH to be systematically screened for gastroesophageal varices and liver cancer. Routine screening of liver cancer and liver biopsy is not recommended for non-cirrhotic NASH patients, but it might be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of fat in the liver, due to causes other than excessive alcohol use. NAFLD is a continuum of liver abnormalities, from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). These diseases begin with fatty accumulation in the liver (hepatic steatosis). A liver can remain fatty without disturbing liver function (NAFL), but by various mechanisms and possible insults to the liver, it may also progress into a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a state in which steatosis is combined with inflammation and sometimes fibrosis (steatohepatitis).
Cancer has a documented presence among Native Americans, and the rates of certain types of cancer exceed that of the general population of the United States. For instance, Native American males were twice as likely to have liver cancer than white males in 2001–05. Women are 2.4 times as likely to contract and die from liver cancer as their white counterparts. Rates of alcoholism of Native Americans are also greater than in the general population.
Tumor markers, chemicals sometimes found in the blood of people with cancer, can be helpful in diagnosing and monitoring the course of liver cancers. High levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the blood can be found in many cases of HCC and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma can be detected with these commonly used tumor markers: carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125). These tumour markers are found in primary liver cancers, as well as in other cancers and certain other disorders.[34][35]
Liver cancer can also form from other structures within the liver such as the bile duct, blood vessels and immune cells. Cancer of the bile duct (cholangiocarcinoma and cholangiocellular cystadenocarcinoma) account for approximately 6% of primary liver cancers.[9] There is also a variant type of HCC that consists of both HCC and cholangiocarcinoma.[11] Tumors of the blood vessels (angiosarcoma and hemangioendothelioma, embryonal sarcoma and fibrosarcoma are produced from a type of connective tissue known as mesenchyme. Cancers produced from muscle in the liver are leiomyosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Other less common liver cancers include carcinosarcomas, teratomas, yolk sac tumours, carcinoid tumours and lymphomas.[9] Lymphomas usually have diffuse infiltration to liver, but It may also form a liver mass in rare occasions.
Tumor markers, chemicals sometimes found in the blood of people with cancer, can be helpful in diagnosing and monitoring the course of liver cancers. High levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the blood can be found in many cases of HCC and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma can be detected with these commonly used tumor markers: carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125). These tumour markers are found in primary liver cancers, as well as in other cancers and certain other disorders.
Surgical removal of the tumor is associated with better cancer prognosis, but only 10-15% of patients are suitable for surgical resection due to the extent of disease or poor liver function. Surgery is only considered if the entire tumor can be safely removed while preserving sufficient functional liver to maintain normal physiology. Thus, preoperative imaging assessment is critical to determine both the extent of HCC and to estimate the amount of residual liver remaining after surgery. To maintain liver function, residual liver volume should exceed 25% of total liver volume in a noncirrhotic liver, greater than 40% in a cirrhotic liver. Surgery on diseased or cirrhotic livers is generally associated with higher morbidity and mortality. The overall recurrence rate after resection is 50-60%. The Singapore Liver Cancer Recurrence score can be used to estimate risk of recurrence after surgery.
RL is performed in people with liver cancer, both primary such as hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic such as from colon adenocarcinoma. Surgical resection is considered the only curative treatment for liver cancer (other than liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma) but it can only be performed in patients with sufficient remnant liver after resection (amongst other criteria). Both PVE and RL are performed in patients who are not be surgical candidates due to insufficient future liver remnant (FLR), which is advised to be between 20-30% and 30-40% of the native liver volume in healthy and cirrhotic livers, respectively.
Alcoholic liver disease is a major public health problem. For example, in the United States up to two million people have alcohol-related liver disorders. Chronic alcohol abuse can cause fatty liver, cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis. Treatment options are limited and consist of most importantly discontinuing alcohol consumption. In cases of severe liver disease, the only treatment option may be a liver transplant from alcohol abstinent donors. Research is being conducted into the effectiveness of anti-TNFs. Certain complementary medications, e.g., milk thistle and silymarin, appear to offer some benefit. Alcohol is a leading cause of liver cancer in the Western world, accounting for 32-45% of hepatic cancers. Up to half a million people in the United States develop alcohol-related liver cancer. Moderate alcohol consumption also increases the risk of liver disease.
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer and primary hepatic cancer, is cancer that starts in the liver.[1] Cancer which has spread from elsewhere to the liver, known as liver metastasis, is more common than that which starts in the liver.[3] Symptoms of liver cancer may include a lump or pain in the right side below the rib cage, swelling of the abdomen, yellowish skin, easy bruising, weight loss, and weakness.[1]
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver (medical terms pertaining to the liver often start in "hepato-" or "hepatic" from the Greek word for liver, "hepar"). Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant (cancerous). They may be discovered on medical imaging (even for a different reason than the cancer itself), or may be present in patients as an abdominal mass, hepatomegaly, abdominal pain, jaundice, or some other liver dysfunction.
On 16 August 2006, Rose Tattoo were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame. On 30 October 2006, Rilen died from bladder cancer two months after his appearance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. On 21 April 2007, Lobby Loyde, briefly a bass guitarist for Rose Tattoo, died of lung cancer. In April 2009 Cocks was diagnosed with liver cancer, manager Steve White stated, "Mick ... is now under the advice of the very best doctors in Sydney. Treatment plans are underway and [he] is in good spirits and ready for a fight". In July, a benefit concert with Rose Tattoo, Jimmy Barnes, You Am I, Ian Moss and The Screaming Jets played at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney to raise money for Cocks. Mick Cocks died from liver cancer on 22 December 2009, aged 54. He was the fifth member of Rose Tattoo to die of cancer and was survived by his partner, Mary.
Hepatitis viruses, including hepatitis B and hepatitis C, can induce a chronic viral infection that leads to liver cancer in 0.47% of hepatitis B patients per year (especially in Asia, less so in North America), and in 1.4% of hepatitis C carriers per year. Liver cirrhosis, whether from chronic viral hepatitis infection or alcoholism, is associated with the development of liver cancer, and the combination of cirrhosis and viral hepatitis presents the highest risk of liver cancer development. Worldwide, liver cancer is one of the most common, and most deadly, cancers due to a huge burden of viral hepatitis transmission and disease.
Many cancers found in the liver are not true liver cancers, but are cancers from other sites in the body that have spread to the liver (known as metastases). Frequently, the site of origin is the gastrointestinal tract, since the liver is close to many of these metabolically active, blood-rich organs near to blood vessels and lymph nodes (such as pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer and carcinoid tumors mainly of the appendix), but also from breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer.
In the past, mortality rates for females in child-bearing age groups were higher than for males at the same age. This is no longer the case, and female human life expectancy is considerably higher than that of males. The reasons for this are not entirely certain. Traditional arguments tend to favor sociology-environmental factors: historically, men have generally consumed more tobacco, alcohol and drugs than women in most societies, and are more likely to die from many associated diseases such as lung cancer, tuberculosis and cirrhosis of the liver. Men are also more likely to die from injuries, whether unintentional (such as occupational, war or car accidents) or intentional (suicide). Men are also more likely to die from most of the leading causes of death (some already stated above) than women. Some of these in the United States include: cancer of the respiratory system, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, cirrhosis of the liver, emphysema, prostate cancer, and coronary heart disease. These far outweigh the female mortality rate from breast cancer and cervical cancer.
Among colorectal cancer patients, 15-25% will have liver metastases already when the colorectal cancer is discovered, and another 25-50% will develop them in the three years after resection of their primary cancer. Of patients who die from metastasised colorectal cancer, 20% have metastasis in the liver alone.
Viruses are one of the most important risks factor for cancer development in humans.
Infection by some hepatitis viruses, especially hepatitis B and hepatitis C, can induce a chronic viral infection that leads to liver cancer in about 1 in 200 of people infected with hepatitis B each year (more in Asia, fewer in North America), and in about 1 in 45 of people infected with hepatitis C each year. People with chronic hepatitis B infection are more than 200 times more likely to develop liver cancer than uninfected people. Liver cirrhosis, whether from chronic viral hepatitis infection or alcohol abuse or some other cause, is independently associated with the development of liver cancer, and the combination of cirrhosis and viral hepatitis presents the highest risk of liver cancer development. Because chronic viral hepatitis is so common, and liver cancer so deadly, liver cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in the world, and is especially common in East Asia and parts of sub-Sarahan Africa.
The most common and most effective treatment is surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) with part of liver and lymph node dissection. However, with gallbladder cancer's extremely poor prognosis, most patients will die within a year of surgery. If surgery is not possible, endoscopic stenting of the biliary tree can reduce jaundice and a stent in stomach may relieve vomiting. Chemotherapy and radiation may also be used with surgery. If gallbladder cancer is diagnosed after cholecystectomy for stone disease (incidental cancer), re-operation to remove part of liver and lymph nodes is required in most cases. When it is done as early as possible, patients have the best chance of long-term survival and even cure.
NAFL and NASH increase the risk of liver cancer. Cirrhosis and liver cancer induced by NAFLD are the second cause of liver transplantation in the US in 2017. Liver cancer develops in NASH in the absence of cirrhosis in 45% in the cases, and people with NASH cirrhosis have increased risk of liver cancer. Indeed, the rate of liver cancer associated with NASH has increased fourfold between 2002 and 2012 in the US, which is more than any other cause of liver cancer. NAFLD constitutes the third most common risk factor for liver cancer. NAFL and NASH were found to develop into cirrhosis in respectively 2-3% and 15-20% of the patients over a 10–20 year period.
API’s have the highest risk of hepatitis B of any ethnic group. San Francisco’s API residents comprise 34% of the city’s population and bear a disproportionate burden of liver cancer and undetected hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is a serious disease responsible for 80% of all liver cancers among APIs. San Francisco has the highest liver cancer rate in the nation. It is estimated that one in ten people in the API community have an undiagnosed infection. APIs are up to 100 times more likely to suffer from chronic hepatitis B infection and four times more likely to die from liver cancer compared with the general population.
Pathologist Dr. Bondo attempts to convince the family of a man dying from liver cancer to donate his liver to the hospital for Bondo's research. (In fact, Bondo wants it as a trophy, as it is the second largest hepatosarcoma ever recorded.) When his request is denied, Bondo has the cancerous liver transplanted into his own body (as the patient signed an organ donor form), so that the cancer will become his personal property and can be kept within the hospital.
Hepatotoxicity (liver damage) can be caused by many cytotoxic drugs. The susceptibility of an individual to liver damage can be altered by other factors such as the cancer itself, viral hepatitis, immunosuppression and nutritional deficiency. The liver damage can consist of damage to liver cells, hepatic sinusoidal syndrome (obstruction of the veins in the liver), cholestasis (where bile does not flow from the liver to the intestine) and liver fibrosis.
Acetaldehyde is produced by the liver as it breaks down ethanol. The liver then normally eliminates 99% of the acetaldehyde. An average liver can process 7 grams of ethanol per hour. For example, it takes 12 hours to eliminate the ethanol in a bottle of wine, giving 12 hours or more of acetaldehyde exposure.
A study of 818 heavy drinkers found that those who are exposed to more acetaldehyde than normal through a defect in the gene for alcohol dehydrogenase are at greater risk of developing cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract and liver.
There are many associations between alcohol drinking and different types of cancer. Data from 2009 indicated 3.5 percent of cancer deaths in the U.S. were due to consumption of alcohol.
Obesity is associated with higher risk of primary liver cancer. As shown with mice, obese mice are prone to liver cancer, likely due to two factors. Obese mice have increased pro-inflammatory cytokines. Obese mice also have higher levels of deoxycholic acid (DCA), a product of bile acid alteration by certain gut microbes, and these microbes are increased with obesity. The excess DCA causes DNA damage and inflammation in the liver, which, in turn, can lead to liver cancer.
Prevention of cancers can be separated into primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention preemptively reduces exposure to a risk factor for liver cancer. One of the most successful primary liver cancer preventions is vaccination against hepatitis B. Vaccination against the hepatitis C virus is currently unavailable. Other forms of primary prevention are aimed at limiting transmission of these viruses by promoting safe injection practices, screening blood donation products, and screening high-risk asymptomatic individuals. Aflatoxin exposure can be avoided by post-harvest intervention to discourage mold, which has been effective in west Africa. Reducing alcohol abuse, obesity, and diabetes would also reduce rates of liver cancer. Diet control in hemochromatosis could decrease the risk of iron overload, decreasing the risk of cancer.[36]