Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma
1st Daniel Moreira Carreira Brasilia, Brazil
Student of Energy Engineering danielmcarreira@hotmail.com
University of Brasilia
Abstract—This document is a summary of the article
Hepato-cellular carcinoma given by the Professor Dr. Suelia
S. R. Fleury Rosa in the Anatomy and Physiology focused on
Engineering class
Keywords—component, formatting, style, styling, insert
(key words)
I. INTRODUCTION (HEADING 1)
It isn’t news for anyone that cancer is one of the worst
possible diseases somebody can go through, it is a
challenge to anybody who goes through this and also a
challenge to doctors and the scientific community to
understand how it works and how to stop it from growing.
One of the types is the liver cancer. The most common is,
also known as, Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),
accountable for, approximately, 90% of the cases of liver
cancer
II. SUMMARY
A. Epidemiology
The liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-
related death around the world. Every year more people
suffer from this type of cancer worldwide; in 2018, there
was 841,080 new liver cancer cases, the sixth most
common cancer.
This would already be enough to attract studies
regarding it and how to treat it but the problem grows a
little bit more. The SEER, Surveillance Epidemiology End
Results, reports HCC as the fastest increasing cause of
cancer related death in the USA since the early 2000s,
with a risk of jumping from the fourth to third leading
cause of cancer related death by 2030.
B. Risk factors
The majority of HCC cases were caused or derived
from liver disease, among the risk factors, cirrhosis is the
leading factor, although in different regions around the
world, these risk factors can vary in the percentage. The
biggest risk factors are, cirrhosis, diabetes or obesity-
related NASH, and infection by HBV or HCV.
C. Mechanisms/pathophysiology
One of the main concerns there is, is to understand how
the cancer works, from it’s origin to the final stages, the
problem of the pathophysiology of HCC is that is too
complex and depends on a multistep process.
In order to confirm if the tumor is malignant, a lot of
factor have to be considered, including a genetic
XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE
predisposition, reciprocal interactions between viral an
non-viral risk factors, the cellular microenvironment and
various immune cells, and the severity of the underlying
chronic liver disease.
If, by any chance, there is an altered environment, the
risk of being malignant is very high, so high, it actually is a
key enabling characteristics of cancer. It can be perceived
in any stage of the malignant progression.
D. Diagnosis, screening and prevention
Discovering how to treat it how it works is very
helpful, but the first problem that lies ahead is the
diagnosis, which is, in many cases diagnosed too late and
the cancer is already in an advanced phase.
The patients that are constantly being checked have a
higher chance of being diagnosed in the early stages, many
times are patients that already had cirrhosis or hepatitis,
they are diagnosed through surveillance. Nevertheless,
given the popularity of screening in some clinical
practices, a large number of patients can be identified for
having a strange mass in the liver. The reasons of these
tests can vary, but usually it happens when patients
complain about pain, a sudden weight loss or worsening of
liver dysfunction.
E. Prevention
The prevention can be seen as obvious if the approach
is on the risk factors, which is also an strategy, such as the
cirrhosis condition, hepatitis and obesity or diabetes, for all
of the cases, a prevention can occur, drink less alcohol,
vaccines and exercise with diet, respectively. By avoiding
the risk factors, the cancer has a rarer scenario of
happening.
Although that is one type of prevention, medicine is
also concern about how to prevent when these factors has
already happened. Studies regarding the use of vitamins A
and K and retinol analogues are being tested along with a
population based study regarding a role for metformin,
statins, coffee and aspirin. However no substantial results
could be gathered, only a recommendation could be given
about the use of coffee and aspirin without any reassurance
of results.
III. CONCLUSION
The liver cancer is a big concern for the medicine today
and a lot is yet to be discovered relating the treatment and
how to prevent it. I had a close friend loose his mom to
liver cancer a few years ago, and I saw what it can do to a
healthy person, she was healthy and didn’t drink alcohol,
she never had had hepatitis and the cancer came anyway.
She underwent a couple of surgeries, remove part of the
liver but that wasn’t enough, the cancer had already
spread. I think that the doctors can discovered a hundred
different ways of treating and surgeries to perform, the best
way to survive is to be diagnosed in the early stages and
even so, sometimes it won’t matter.
So my conclusion is pretty straight forward, go to the
doctor regularly and do a check up annually, it can save
your life, and if by any chance you get caught in this
situation, I hope you have God on your side, pray like your
life dependent on it. Thank you for the attention.