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LIVER Cancer
LIVER Cancer
BSN IV-1
LIVER
The liver continuously
filters blood that
circulates
through
the
body,
converting nutrients and drugs absorbed from the digestive tract into ready-to-use
chemicals. The liver performs many other important functions, such as removing toxins
and other chemical waste products from the blood and readying them for excretion.
Because all the blood in the body must pass through it, the liver is unusually accessible
to cancer cells traveling in the bloodstream.
Cancer of the LIVER
Birth defects
Alcohol abuse
Hemochromatosis (a hereditary disease associated with too much iron in the liver)
Cirrhosis
Herbicides
Smoking
Liver cancer may also be linked to obesity and fatty liver disease.
Liver Metastases
Metastases from other primary sites, particularly the;
Digestive System
Breast
Lung
Clinical Manifestation
Weight loss
Loss of strength
Anorexia
Anemia
The diagnosis of liver cancer is based on clinical signs and symptoms, the history
and physical examination, and the results of laboratory and x-ray studies.
Leukocytosis
Bilirubin
Erythrocytosis
Alkaline phosphatase
Hypercalcemia
Hypoglycemia
Lactic dehydrogenase
hypocholesterolemia
The best way to detect liver cancer is through surveillance ultrasound of the liver done
every 6 months in a patient with a diagnosis of cirrhosis. As with most forms of cancer, it is best
to treat the liver cancer as soon as it is detected.
Once a suspicion of liver cancer arises, a physician will order one the following to confirm a
diagnosis:
1. Blood tests: alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), which may be elevated in 70% of patients with liver
cancer. AFP levels could be normal in liver cancer. A rising level of AFP is suspicious
for liver cancer. Other labs tests include des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin, which can be
elevated in most patients with liver cancer.
2. Imaging studies: Multiphasic helical CT scan and MRI with contrast of the liver are the
preferred imaging for detecting the location and extent of blood supply to the cancer.
3. Liver biopsy is performed to sample tissue from the lesion in the liver, which is analyzed
by a pathologist to confirm the suspected diagnosis of liver cancer.
Medical Management
The underlying cirrhosis is so prevalent in cancer of the liver that increases the risks
associated with surgery.
Radiation Therapy
Chemotherapy
Surgical Management
Lobectomy
Complications
Rejection
Bleeding
Infection