5 groups of people susceptible to liver cancer

Liver cancer begins with the abnormal growth of malignant cells in the liver, an organ located in the upper right part of the abdomen, below the diaphragm and above the stomach.

Early stage liver cancer has few symptoms. Some symptoms that may occur in patients in advanced stages are jaundice, yellow eyes, dark urine, skin rash...

Liver cancer is more common in men than women, and is more common in older people. Knowing the groups of people susceptible to liver cancer will help you be more proactive in early screening for the disease.

Below are groups of people susceptible to liver cancer:

Liver cancer is a common gastrointestinal cancer.

Infected with hepatitis virus

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection makes people susceptible to cirrhosis and progression to cancer.

Many studies have shown that about 10-20% of patients with cirrhosis can develop liver cancer. In Vietnam, up to 60-70% of liver cancer patients are infected with hepatitis B virus and about 20-30% of cases are infected with hepatitis C virus.

Heavy alcohol abuse

Alcohol is particularly harmful to the nervous system and digestive organs, including the liver. Alcohol can cause cirrhosis – a condition in which healthy liver cells are replaced by irreversible scar tissue that can easily turn into cancer.

Heavy drinkers have poor health and low immunity, which also creates favorable conditions for factors that increase the risk of cancer to develop.

Doctors explain that alcohol causes cancer because when entering the body, under the influence of certain enzymes, alcohol can be converted into acetaldehyde - a substance related to many different cancers.

The World Health Organization has also classified ethanol as a carcinogen, including liver cancer. The more alcohol people drink, the greater the liver excretion and the higher the risk of cancer.

Overweight/obese people

Overweight and obese people have a risk of liver cancer twice as high as normal people. Not only increasing the risk of liver cancer, obese people also have a risk of many other cancers such as cervical cancer, ovarian cancer (in women), stomach cancer...

Doctors say obese people are susceptible to chronic hepatitis and cancer.

Diabetic patients

The risk of liver cancer in people with diabetes is much higher than that of normal people. According to research by the American Center for Medical Research, diabetic patients have a risk of liver cancer more than 2 times higher.

Explaining the link between diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) and liver cancer, doctors said it may be related to increased insulin levels, fatty liver not related to alcohol...

People exposed to carcinogens

People who regularly eat moldy foods such as wheat, soybeans, peanuts, corn, etc. are more susceptible to liver cancer. In addition, drinking unsafe water containing arsenic also increases the risk of this malignant disease.