What Are the Risk Factors of Liver Cancer?
A risk factor refers to anything that can increase people's chance to develop any disease. Knowing what are the risk factors of liver cancer is important to help everyone more aware of this cancer. Although it doesn’t directly cause cancer, avoiding them is the key to lowering your risk of being affected.
Having a risk factor or several of them doesn’t merely mean that you will suffer from this disease. Even those who have no known risk factors can develop liver cancer. However, understanding them and consulting with the doctors help you to perform a better lifestyle and choose suitable health care options.
1. Cirrhosis
People who have cirrhosis, their liver cancer get damaged and substituted with scar tissue. It increases the possibility of these people getting liver cancer. Most people suffering from liver cancer already have cirrhosis.
2. Viral hepatitis
Viral hepatitis caused by chronically long-term infection of either hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus becomes the most common risk factor of liver cancer. The infections caused by those viruses cause cirrhosis in the liver. As it gets worse, it will lead to the development of liver cancer.
3. Age
In many countries including the United States, liver cancer mostly affects adults aged more than 60.
4. Gender
Liver cancer is more likely to develop in men rather than women. This might be due to behaviors that lead to several risk factors.
5. Race
In some countries like the United States, some races are more vulnerable to this disease compared with others. For instance, Asian Americans as well as Pacific Islanders place the top position in developing liver cancer than other races in the country.
6. Obesity
Obesity belongs to what are the risk factors of liver cancer that are less aware. When people are obese they have a higher chance to suffer from cirrhosis and other fatty liver diseases including liver cancer. That’s why it is important to live healthily and keep the weight under control.
7. Tobacco use
Smoking also raises the possibility of suffering from liver cancer. People who smoked then stop have a lower risk to develop this disease rather than those who keep smoking daily. However, both of them have a higher risk to affect by liver cancer than those who don’t.
Smoking not only makes people more vulnerable to liber cancer but also other types of cancer. Meanwhile, being smoke-free is known to be effective in preventing people from about 15 types of cancer as well as protecting other people in their surroundings from becoming passive smokers.
8. Heavy alcohol
Heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse cause cirrhosis in many people as this disease is highly correlated with liver cancer. This habit even doubles the risk of suffering from liver cancer in heavy drinkers who already have hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
9. Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is another disease associated with the increased risk of suffering from liver cancer. This is even worse if patients have heavy drinking habits or are already infected by viral hepatitis. People with type 2 diabetes who are overweight also have a higher risk to get liver problems such as liver cancer.
Although having risk factors doesn’t always prove you develop liver cancer, knowing what are the risk factors of liver cancer is essential to help you maintain a good and healthy lifestyle. Doing so reduces the risk of suffering from this cancer.
Having a risk factor or several of them doesn’t merely mean that you will suffer from this disease. Even those who have no known risk factors can develop liver cancer. However, understanding them and consulting with the doctors help you to perform a better lifestyle and choose suitable health care options.
What Are the Risk Factors of Liver Cancer to Aware?
The following risk factors contribute to the raise of chance for people of developing liver cancer. If you belong to one or more risk factors, you had better be more aware of your health condition even though further medical procedures are required to prove you have this cancer or not.1. Cirrhosis
People who have cirrhosis, their liver cancer get damaged and substituted with scar tissue. It increases the possibility of these people getting liver cancer. Most people suffering from liver cancer already have cirrhosis.
2. Viral hepatitis
Viral hepatitis caused by chronically long-term infection of either hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus becomes the most common risk factor of liver cancer. The infections caused by those viruses cause cirrhosis in the liver. As it gets worse, it will lead to the development of liver cancer.
3. Age
In many countries including the United States, liver cancer mostly affects adults aged more than 60.
4. Gender
Liver cancer is more likely to develop in men rather than women. This might be due to behaviors that lead to several risk factors.
5. Race
In some countries like the United States, some races are more vulnerable to this disease compared with others. For instance, Asian Americans as well as Pacific Islanders place the top position in developing liver cancer than other races in the country.
6. Obesity
Obesity belongs to what are the risk factors of liver cancer that are less aware. When people are obese they have a higher chance to suffer from cirrhosis and other fatty liver diseases including liver cancer. That’s why it is important to live healthily and keep the weight under control.
7. Tobacco use
Smoking also raises the possibility of suffering from liver cancer. People who smoked then stop have a lower risk to develop this disease rather than those who keep smoking daily. However, both of them have a higher risk to affect by liver cancer than those who don’t.
Smoking not only makes people more vulnerable to liber cancer but also other types of cancer. Meanwhile, being smoke-free is known to be effective in preventing people from about 15 types of cancer as well as protecting other people in their surroundings from becoming passive smokers.
8. Heavy alcohol
Heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse cause cirrhosis in many people as this disease is highly correlated with liver cancer. This habit even doubles the risk of suffering from liver cancer in heavy drinkers who already have hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
9. Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is another disease associated with the increased risk of suffering from liver cancer. This is even worse if patients have heavy drinking habits or are already infected by viral hepatitis. People with type 2 diabetes who are overweight also have a higher risk to get liver problems such as liver cancer.
Although having risk factors doesn’t always prove you develop liver cancer, knowing what are the risk factors of liver cancer is essential to help you maintain a good and healthy lifestyle. Doing so reduces the risk of suffering from this cancer.
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