The liver is the largest organ inside your body, located beneath the right lung and rib cage. One of the essential functions of the liver is blood purification. Purification is done to get rid of any toxins and chemicals in the blood to process nutrients and provide energy for the body. The liver also creates bile fluid needed for the digestion process. To surmise, liver function is crucial for survival.

Liver cancer is caused when malignant (cancerous) cells develop inside the organ, leading to tumors. This condition is primary liver cancer since these cells start to grow out of control inside the liver.

Causes of liver cancer
One of the risk factors that increase the chances of primary liver cancer is Liver Cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a severe condition that leads to the formation of scar tissue inside the organ.

Other causes of liver damage can be linked to the following-

• Type 2 diabetes
• Heavy alcohol consumption and smoking
• Obesity
• Exposure to arsenic through water-based toxins
• Exposure to aflatoxins
• Certain hereditary factors

Signs and symptoms of liver cancer
Unexplained weight loss, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, a bulky mass under the ribs as a result of an enlarged liver or spleen, pain, swelling and fluid buildup in the abdomen, and jaundice are noticeable symptoms.

Staging of liver cancer
For evaluating effective treatment options, liver cancer staging is the next crucial step taken by doctors. One of the popular methods for staging is the TNM system, approved by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. The system is based on identifying information related to the following observations-

• The size of the tumor
• The spread of the tumor to nearby lymph nodes
• The extent of metastasis causing cancer to spread to other organs

Staging allows doctors to identify the four known categories of liver cancer.

• Stage I Includes the assessment of a single tumor cancer and the extent of its spread to nearby lymph nodes. In most cases, the tumor is still in the liver and has not spread outside
• Stage II is the assessment of several small tumors and whether these cancerous cells have reached blood vessels allowing them to spread to other parts, using the circulatory system
• Stage III is an advanced stage when a larger tumor has reached the blood vessels and might also affect the gallbladder
• Stage IV is when cancer has achieved Metastasis. This means the cancerous cells have already spread to other parts of the body

Treatment options

• Radiofrequency ablation
  The use of heat therapy to destroy cancerous cells through the skin or by way of surgery.
• Percutaneous ethanol injection
  In this treatment, alcohol is directly injected into the liver tumor to destroy the cancerous cells. This option is effective only for small tumors, less than 3cm in size.
• Radiation therapy
  This procedure involves the use of high energy radiation to destroy the cancerous cells.

Chemoembolization, radioembolization, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy all involve the use of very strong medications to destroy the cancerous cells and stop them from spreading. These medications are injected into the arteries leading to the tumor to work effectively from the inside.

Common surgical procedures include partial hepatectomy (part of the liver where the tumor has spread is removed) and liver transplant for early-stage liver cancer only.