One
type of cancer is liver cancer. Liver cancer
(hepatocellular carcinoma) is a cancer arising from the heart. It is also known
as primary liver cancer or hepatoma. Liver-type is formed from different cell
types (eg, bile ducts, blood vessels, and fat storage cells). However, liver
cells (hepatocytes) make up 80% of liver tissue. Thus, the majority of primary
liver cancers (over 90 to 95%) arises from liver cells and is called
hepatocellular cancer (hepatocellular cancer) or carcinoma (carcinoma).
When
patients or physicians to talk about liver
cancer, however, they often refer to cancer that has spread to the liver,
which is derived from other organs (such as the colon / large intestine,
stomach, pancreas, breast, and lung). More specifically, the type of liver
cancer is called a disease cancer or
metastatic liver cancer secondary liver. Thus, the term liver cancer actually
can refer to metastatic liver cancer or hepatocellular cancer. The subject of
this article is hepatocellular carcinoma, which I will refer to as liver
cancer.
Coverage Problems Liver Cancer
Liver cancer
is a disease the fifth most common cancer in the world. A type of deadly
cancer, liver cancer will kill almost all patients who are suffering in one
year. In 1990, world health organization estimates that there are approximately
430,000 new cases of liver cancer worldwide, and a similar number of patients
who died as a result of this cancer. About three-quarters of cases of liver cancer
are found in Southeast Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan). Liver
cancer is also very common in Sub-Saharan Africa (Mozambique and South Africa).
The
frequency of liver cancer in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa is greater
than 20 cases per 100,000 population. In contrast, the frequency of liver
cancer in North America and Western Europe are much lower, less than five per
100,000 population. However, the frequency of liver cancer among Alaska Natives
can be comparable to those found in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, recent data
show that the frequency of liver cancer in the United States as a whole
increased. This increase was caused primarily by chronic hepatitis C, a liver
infection that causes liver cancer.