Hepatitis B patients with jaundice should be more alert to liver cancer. What causes liver cancer?

Fever, liver pain, jaundice, nausea and other symptoms are common manifestations of various liver and gallbladder diseases. They cannot be regarded as hepatitis and other diseases should not be missed. Especially for liver and gallbladder cancers, if misdiagnosed, the consequences will be serious. Therefore, experts remind people not to mistake liver cancer for hepatitis.

Anyone who has any of the following conditions should be alert to the possibility of cancer and should not only treat it as hepatitis but also be on guard against the occurrence of liver cancer:

1. Chronic hepatitis B does not heal repeatedly, and the jaundice suddenly worsens and the ascites increases.

2. Unexplained low fever, fatigue, and weight loss.

3. There is obvious pain in the right hypochondrium, but no chills or fever.

4. The liver is significantly enlarged, hard, and rough, or there is progressive liver enlargement.

5. If middle-aged and elderly people develop painless jaundice and mild fever, in addition to paying attention to liver cancer, they should also be alert to malignant changes in the pancreas, gallbladder, duodenum and other parts.

For any suspected case, blood alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) can be checked regularly every one or two months, which is the simplest and most sensitive method to diagnose liver cancer.

What are the “seven deadly sins” that lead to liver cancer?

1. Water pollution: Severe pollution of drinking water is one of the important causes of liver cancer, especially polluted ditch water, followed by river water, and well water is the lowest. Therefore, in villages without tap water facilities, drinking well water should be encouraged.

2. Viral hepatitis: Mainly hepatitis B and C virus infections, especially hepatitis B and hepatitis B virus carriers, whose incidence of primary liver cancer is 2 to 100 times higher than that of normal people; in areas with a high incidence of liver cancer, about 20% of people may be hepatitis B or hepatitis B virus carriers.

3. Aflatoxins (AFT): Aflatoxin B is the most important carcinogen. It is suitable for growing and reproducing in high temperature and high humidity climates, especially in summer, moldy food, grains, feed, etc., which are most likely to be contaminated by Aspergillus flavus and produce aflatoxins. Long-term consumption of food containing this toxin can induce liver cancer.

4. Chemical carcinogens: Chemical substances that can cause liver cancer are mainly N-nitroso compounds, such as nitrosamines and nitrosamides, etc. In addition, pesticides, alcohol, safrole, etc. can also induce liver cancer.

5. Gene mutation: Some people also believe that mutagens and viruses in the environment stimulate the activation of liver cell division response pathways, causing point mutations and gene translocations in cells, which are possible factors that accelerate the proliferation of cancer cells.

6. Immune status: Some people believe that the plasma of liver cancer patients contains a blocking factor that can inhibit cellular immunity and protect liver cancer cells from being killed by immune cells. Studies have shown that alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) can inhibit the phagocytosis of lymphocytes and macrophages.

7. Complex factors: Overnutrition (macronutrients) or nutritional deficiency (such as vitamin A, B1 deficiency), hemochromatosis, parasitic infection and heredity are also risk factors for liver cancer.

How should we prevent diseases such as liver cancer?

1. Eating dairy products. Scientific studies have shown that drinking alcohol has a high risk of cancer. Eating dairy products every day can reduce the risk of liver cancer by more than half. In fact, milk contains calcium and vitamins, which can detoxify the human intestines and excrete toxins in the human body. This has a certain defensive effect on liver cancer, so it is recommended to eat more dairy products in the diet.

Second: You must get the hepatitis B vaccine. If you don't want to get liver cancer, you must first prevent hepatitis. Anyone who has never had hepatitis can get the hepatitis B vaccine to prevent it. Anyone who has hepatitis must actively treat it, because hepatitis is likely to develop into cirrhosis and eventually liver cancer. The waiting time is tight, and if cirrhosis turns into liver cancer, the time to treat it will be relatively slow.

3. Never eat moldy food. Aflatoxin enters the human body, which will cause liver cancer. Progesterone is also the cause of liver cancer. Foods like corn and peanuts are the most likely to mold. You should pay attention to storage. Once you find that they are moldy, you can no longer eat them. There is a saying that illness comes from the mouth, so don't lose more just because you want to save a little bit.

Fourth: Develop a good lifestyle and reduce the intake of nitrosamines. It is best to quit smoking and drinking. Smoking is harmful to health, and excessive drinking can easily lead to alcoholic hepatitis, reduce one's immune function, and damage the liver's digestion function. Regular examinations should also be done under the guidance of a doctor. Regular examinations can effectively prevent liver lesions.

Warm reminder: Although liver cancer is a serious disease, as long as we take precautions and are aware of its dangers, we will not let it easily appear around us. In addition, we must control our diet and keep our body and mind happy, and illness will not come to us on its own. Whether it is liver cancer or other cancer diseases, we must detect and treat them in time and be responsible for our own body and health.