Liver Cancer

Introduction

The incidence of liver cancer is increasing in the Western World, and this statement leaves no doubts, no prospective studies that provide a turnaround over the next decade. Recent estimated data from the American Cancer Society in primary liver cancer indicates that approximately 19.590 people (13.260 men and 6.330 women) died from these cancers.

The percentage of Americans who suffer from liver cancer has been gradually increasing for several decades. Liver cancer is more common in men than in women, but this cancer is relatively uncommon in both groups. The average risk of a man with liver cancer during their lifetime is about 1 in 94, while the average woman's risk is about 1 in 212. The average age at diagnosis of liver cancer is 63 years. Over 90% of people diagnosed with liver cancer are over 45 years of age.

Approximately 3% of those aged between 35 and 44 years of age and less than 3% are under 35 years. This cancer is more common in countries such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia than in the United States. In many countries, liver cancer is the most common type of cancer. More than 700,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year worldwide. Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, representing more than 600,000 deaths each year. Japan has experienced a dramatic increase in its prevalence, becoming the third leading cause of cancer death in men and the fifth in women (www.cancer.org).

Discussion

History of Liver Cancer

Liver cancer is a disease where liver cells become abnormal and grow out of control and form a cancerous tumor. The right side of the abdomen, between the diaphragm and stomach, the liver is one of the largest organs. The liver performs many important functions: filter out harmful substances from the blood, produces bile, which is useful to digest the fats in the food, stores glycogen, a sugar that the body uses for energy. Its duties are many and important.

Liver cancer occurs when abnormal cells are out of control from its tissues. The primary cancer (also called hepatoma) is a cancer that originates in the liver cells (called hepatocytes). Secondary ormetastatic cancer is a cancer that was first formed elsewhere in the body before spreading to the liver. The growth of abnormal cells can cause the formation of a benign or malignant. A benign tumor does not threaten to spread to the rest of the body and can be removed without risk of complications. By cons, malignancy should be treated because it can spread and poses a threat to survival. Annually, people suffer with the liver cancer.

Primary tumors of the liver can be benign or malignant, with great prevalence of the latter, and can originate from a variety of structures: hepatocytes (effector cells of the liver) bile ducts (that carry bile), liver or connective blood vessels. The disease has an incidence of 0.5 cases per 100,000 persons in western countries and even to 110 cases per 100,000 in some African countries, especially in Mozambique, where the tumor is most common by far (for the presence of many infected ...