A risk factor is anything that increases your possibility of acquiring a disease. Different types of cancers have diverse risk factors. Your risk of rising cancer depends on various factors. These factors comprise your age, genetics, lifestyle and environmental aspects.
A risk factor is something that can raise your risk of developing cancer. Primary liver cancer rates in the UK are increasing due to certain risk factors. Even if you have one or more of the risk factors listed below, liver cancer is not definite.
Here, we will discuss how the risk factors of liver cancer increase.
High Alcohol Intake
High alcohol intake increases your risk of liver cancer. Long-term alcohol intake can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis increases the risk of liver cancer. Alcohol may also directly harm the DNA inside liver cells.
Heavy drinkers with hepatitis B or C virus infections have a higher risk of liver cancer compared to moderate alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is the cause of seven out of every hundred cases (7%) of liver cancer in the UK.
Chronic Viral Hepatitis
Worldwide, the most popular aspect of liver cancer is chronic or long-term infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C and B infections, particularly in the US and Asia, increase the risk of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
If they drink heavily—that is, six or more drinks per day—the risk increases even further. HBV and HCV can spread from individual to individual through sharing dirty needles, insecure sex, or childbirth. This is rare in the United States since blood products are verified for these viruses.
Children in developing countries may become infected with hepatitis B after having extended contact with infected family members.
Cirrhosis or Liver Diseases
The risk of rising liver cancer is enlarged for people who have cirrhosis, a disease in which muscular liver problems are exchanged by scar tissue. The scar tissue prevents the liver from functioning properly by blocking blood flow.
Common causes of cirrhosis are chronic alcoholism and chronic hepatitis infections. Individuals with HCV-related cirrhosis have a higher risk of rising liver cancer than individuals with cirrhosis related to HBV or alcohol usage.
Cirrhosis treatment plays a crucial role in managing the condition and potentially reducing the risk of liver cancer.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
This disease is also known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Consuming nonalcoholic fatty liver disease raises your risk of liver cancer. It can cause damage to the liver by causing triglycerides, a type of fat, to accumulate there. NAFLD can lead to scarring of the liver and liver failure.
It usually arises in people who are overweight or who have type 2 diabetes. It also includes metabolic disorders categorized by high blood sugar, additional body fat around the waist, and irregular cholesterol levels.
As the number of Americans becoming obese rises, NAFLD is becoming a more significant risk factor for liver cancer.
Diabetes
People with diabetes have a higher risk of liver cancer as compared to those without diabetes. The increased risk may arise from either the greater insulin levels in diabetics or the damage that diabetes causes to the liver.
Individuals with additional risk factors, such as liver cirrhosis and hepatitis infection, may be at a higher risk. Some treatments for diabetes, like metformin, may decrease the risk of liver cancer.