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Causes of Liver Cancer

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The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. It is also known as primary liver cancer or hepatoma and hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer arising from the liver. The liver performs several vital functions. It processes and stores many of the nutrients absorbed from the intestine. It also makes some of the clotting factors needed to stop bleeding from a cut or injury. Hemangioma (he-man-ge-O-muh) is the most common type of benign liver tumor.

Liver cancer refers to either primary liver cancer, that is cancer originating from the liver cells or supporting cells in the liver, or secondary liver cancer, that is cancer that has spread to the liver from the surrounding organs, usually via the blood that drains those organs and flow through the liver.

Most causes of liver failure will be discussed below. A defective synthesis of proteins and detoxification can cause damage to the liver cells. If the liver cells are damaged, one may experience loss of appetite, occasional fever, minor abdominal pains, bleeding, and discoloration of the eyes and skin to become yellowish.

Liver cancer claimed about 13-thousand lives in the United States about ten years ago. Since then, deaths have shot up almost 40 percent. The American Liver Foundation says liver cancer deaths will soon reach 19-thousand a year, and the rate is expected to continue to climb as Americans abuse their livers in a variety of ways.

Leading cause of liver cancer is chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus. So far, there is not a vaccine to protect against hepatitis C infection. The best prevention against hepatitis C as well as hepatitis B (for those who have not been vaccinated) is understanding how the viruses are spread and how to avoid contamination.

Symptoms of Liver cancer
Liver cancer can lead to enlargement of Liver which can result in discomfort e.g. pain in the upper abdomen or pain in the right shoulder. There are some other common symptoms of Liver cancer (none of them are too conclusive though) like nausea, weakness, loss of weight etc.

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