Causes & Risks of Liver Cancer - Liver Cancer Center

Causes of Liver Cancer

In the United States of America, the incidence of liver cancer in Caucasians is the lowest. The incidence, on the other hand, is the highest among Asian immigrants. Liver cancer is very closely associated with hepatitis B. Those who have the infection are very prone to developing liver cancer.

Some of the most common causes of liver cancer include:

Hepatitis B infection: Of all the hepatitis infections, hepatitis B is most commonly associated with liver cancer.

Alcohol abuse: Prolonged alcohol abuse can cause cirrhosis and may also damage your liver badly. This eventually causes you to develop cancer.

Cirrhosis: Damaged liver cells may not repair themselves normally. If the liver cells are too damaged, they often regenerate in abnormal ways, causing cancer.

Gender: Men are more likely to have liver cancer than women. Men – especially those with a history of alcohol abuse are known to be more prone to developing liver cancer.

There are certain risks of liver cancer as well. Here are some of them:

Hepatitis B: This is an infection that could be caught from infected blood. Men with a history of hepatitis B infection are more prone to developing this infection than women. A study has shown that the likelihood of developing liver cancer is 200 times higher in those who have hepatitis B than those who do not. The genetic material of hepatitis B virus is very similar to that of hepatocellular cancer.

Hepatitis C: This infection is usually rare, but is a contributory factor in the development of liver cancer. A study showed that 75% of people, who presented with liver cancer in Japan, were also suffering from hepatitis C. A lot of people also had liver scarring due to hepatitis C. The infection can cause an elevated level of alpha-fetoprotein in the blood. This could cause cancer in the liver.

Alcohol Abuse: Chronic alcohol abuse can cause liver cancer. In fact, this is one of the highest risks of developing any kind of liver disease, including cancer. Drinking can cause a lot of scarring and damage to your liver. However, as the liver cells heal themselves, you may experience a cancer producing genetic change. Therefore liver cancer almost always occurs when long term alcohol abusers stop drinking alcohol.

Aflatoxin B1: This is a toxin which is produced by the fungal strain known as aspergillus flavus. Food that is stored in hot and humid environment may attract this mold. Upon eating such food, you also inadvertently ingest the fungus. The aflatoxin B1 produced by aspergillus may cause liver cancer eventually. It can also cause gene mutations, which may cause cancers in other parts of the body as well.

Drugs and Medications: There are some chemicals in drugs and medications that may cause hepatic adenoma. These tumors are benign in the beginning but they also have the potential to become malignant later on. However, hepatic adenoma may not always become cancerous. These chemicals may also cause cancers in other parts of the body, such as in the blood vessels and other vital organs.

Hemochromatosis: this is a hereditary condition and almost 30% of the people who suffer from this condition go on to develop liver cancer. Patients who also develop cirrhosis along with hemochromatosis are more prone to developing liver cancer. If cirrhosis is also present in such a patient, it would not be possible to prevent cancer even by treating the hemochromatosis.

Obesity: Deposits of fats on the liver can cause a disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Also known as fatty liver disease, this is a condition that can severely change the chemical composition of the liver and cause severe life threatening liver conditions. If there is cirrhosis and scarring from the fat accumulation in the liver, you could possibly develop cancer. Obesity related diabetes can also cause cancer.

References

Shu-Chun Chuang, Carlo La Vecchia, Paolo Boffetta, Liver cancer: Descriptive epidemiology and risk factors other than HBV and HCV infection, Cancer Letters, Volume 286, Issue 1, 1 December 2009, Pages 9-14, ISSN 0304-3835, 10.1016/j.canlet.2008.10.040.
W. Thomas London, Liver Cancer: Etiology and Prevention, In: Editor-in-Chief: Joseph R. Bertino, Editor(s)-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Cancer (Second Edition), Academic Press, New York, 2002, Pages 39-44, ISBN 9780122275555, 10.1016/B0-12-227555-1/00123-4.