Liver cancer, the growth of tumors in the liver, is among the common
cancers with over 700,000 new cases reported in one year alone. The
major reason for the incidence of this dreadful cancer is identified as
liver infection of Hepatitis B or C virus. A scary finding by Hepatitis Australia
shows that for every person dying of liver cancer in Australia, there
is a new person diagnosed with the disease. With cases that lead to
death increasing in an alarming rate, medical world is taking more
efforts to tackle this disease. Here is a look at some of the facts about liver cancer.
Prevalence is more among men and old people: Liver
cancer is observed to be more prevalent in men than in women, and it
tends to be found more in old people. More than 80% of all reported
liver cancer cases are in developing countries in Asia and Africa.
One of the major causes is Hepatitis infection: Cirrhosis,
where scar tissues replace healthy tissues in the liver, is considered
as one of the major causes of liver cancer. This is brought about by
chronic alcohol use, persistent viral infections, and certain auto
immune diseases. Long term hepatitis B infection (often undetected) is
cited as a major cause of cirrhosis by experts. A lot of liver cancer
cases are due to smoking, diabetes and obesity. Exposure to aflatoxins,
arsenic, vinyl chloride, etc are also considered as potent causes for
the disease.
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Labels: Australia, Liver cancer HCC