Liver cancer

About Liver Cancer

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Click here to listen to an interview about liver transplant with transplant surgeon Dr. Marty Sellers on Andrew Schorr's online talk show "Patient Power."

Reasons for Hope: Read about cancer survivor Harriet Human's experience with liver cancer.

Cancer that begins in the liver is called primary liver cancer. In the United States, this type of cancer is uncommon. However, it is common for cancer to spread to the liver from the colon, lungs, breasts, or other parts of the body. When this happens, the disease is not liver cancer. The cancer in the liver is a secondary cancer. It is named for the organ or the tissue in which it began.

Piedmont Hospital Liver Cancer Service offers liver cancer patients what they require for optimal outcomes--a multidisciplinary, team-oriented approach. Piedmont Hospital saw a potentially unmet need for Georgians to have increased access to such care. The Piedmont Cancer Center's new Liver Cancer Service has now been officially launched to provide this access and care. For more information or a second opinion on a medical diagnosis or treatment plan, call toll free at 888-605-2848.

Researchers in hospitals and medical centers around the world are working to learn more about what causes liver cancer. At this time, no one knows its exact causes. However, scientists have found that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop liver cancer. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease. Those with the following health problems are at a higher risk of developing liver cancer.

• Chronic liver infection (hepatitis)
• Cirrhosis
• Aflatoxin
• Being male
• Family history
• Age

For more information about how these health problems lead to liver cancer, see the patient information page. 

The Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention risk assessment tool can be found at www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu. This site provides risk levels specific to certain cancers as well as great prevention tips.

The Great American Health CheckSM is an easy, confidential, online health assessment tool available at www.cancer.org/healthcheck. The tool was developed by the American Cancer Society and is made possible by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife"), with additional support from official sponsors Quest Diagnostics and Bayer Aspirin®.

Detailed Information about Liver Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates that 19,160 new cases (13,650 in men and 5,510 in women) of primary liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during 2007. About 16,780 people (11,280 men and 5,500 women) will die of these cancers in the United States during 2007. In contrast to many other cancers, the rate of people developing liver cancer had been increasing up to 1999. This is no longer true and the rate seems to be stable. The actual number keeps increasing, of course, because the United States population is increasing.

About 85% of people diagnosed with liver cancer are between 45 and 85 years of age. About 4% are between 35 and 44 years of age and only 2.4% are below 35.

This cancer is many times more common in developing countries in Africa and East Asia than in the United States. In many of these countries it is the most common type of cancer. Over 500,000 people are diagnosed with this cancer each year throughout the world. Since symptoms of liver cancer often do not appear until the disease is advanced, only a small number of liver cancers are found in the early stages and can be removed with surgery. Less than 30% of the patients having explorative surgery are able to have their cancer completely removed by surgery. The overall 5-year relative survival rate from liver cancer is about 10.5%. One reason for this low survival rate is that most patients with liver cancer also have cirrhosis of the liver, which itself can be fatal.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Five-year rates are used to produce a standard way of discussing prognosis. Of course, many people live much longer than 5 years. Five-year relative survival rates exclude patients dying of other diseases. This means that anyone who died of another cause, such as heart disease, is not counted in this statistic.

Researchers in hospitals and medical centers around the world are working to learn more about what causes liver cancer. At this time, no one knows its exact causes. However, scientists have found that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop liver cancer. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease. Those with the following health problems are at a higher risk of developing liver cancer.

• Chronic liver infection (hepatitis) -- Certain viruses can infect the liver. The infection may be chronic and never go away. The most important risk factor for liver cancer is a chronic infection with the hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus. These viruses can be passed from person to person through blood (such as by sharing needles) or sexual contact. An infant may catch these viruses from an infected mother. Liver cancer can develop after many years of infection with the virus. In people who are not already infected with the hepatitis B virus, a vaccine can prevent chronic infection and protect against liver cancer. Researchers are now working to develop a vaccine to prevent hepatitis C infection.
  
• Cirrhosis -- Cirrhosis is a disease that develops when liver cells are damaged and replaced with scar tissue. Cirrhosis may be caused by alcohol abuse, certain drugs and other chemicals, and certain viruses or parasites. About 5 percent of people with cirrhosis develop liver cancer.
  
• Aflatoxin -- Liver cancer can be caused by aflatoxin, a harmful substance made by certain types of mold. Aflatoxin can form on peanuts, corn, and other nuts and grains. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow the sale of foods that have high levels of aflatoxin.
  
• Being male -- Men are twice as likely as women to get liver cancer.
  
• Family history -- People who have family members with liver cancer may be more likely to get the disease.
  
• Age -- In the United States, liver cancer occurs more often in people over age 60 than in younger people.

Liver Cancer Overview(MS Word doc)

How is Liver Cancer Treated (MS Word doc)

If you do not have a primary care physician to complete your yearly physical, you may click on this link for Piedmont's physician directory.

To Learn More

CALL

For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers with TTY equipment may call 1-800-332-8615. The call is free and a trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.

WEB SITES AND ORGANIZATIONS

The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. There are also many other places where people can get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Local hospitals may have information on local and regional agencies that offer information about finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems associated with cancer treatment.

PUBLICATIONS

The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.

LIVEHELP

The NCI's LiveHelp service, a program available on several of the Institute's Web sites, provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.

WRITE

For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:

NCI Public Inquiries Office

Suite 3036A

6116 Executive Boulevard, MSC8322

Bethesda, MD 20892-8322

About PDQ

PDQ IS A COMPREHENSIVE CANCER DATABASE AVAILABLE ON NCI'S WEB SITE.

PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.

PDQ CONTAINS CANCER INFORMATION SUMMARIES.

The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.

THE PDQ CANCER INFORMATION SUMMARIES ARE DEVELOPED BY CANCER EXPERTS AND REVIEWED REGULARLY.

Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.

PDQ ALSO CONTAINS INFORMATION ON CLINICAL TRIALS.

Before starting treatment, patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about new treatments, the risks involved, and how well they do or do not work. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard."

Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237); TTY at 1-800-332-8615.

Date Last Modified: 2006-01-04

If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.