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A risk factoris
anything that affects a person's chance of getting a disease.
Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors like
smoking can be controlled. Others, like a person's age or family
history, can't be changed. But risk factors don't tell us everything.
Having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that a person
will get cancer. And many people who get the disease don't have any
known risk factors.
Risk factors
These are some risk factors that make a person more likely to
develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC):
Gender:
Men are more likely to get liver cancer than are women. This could be
because of the behaviors listed below, such as smoking and alcohol
abuse.
Race/ethnicity: In
the United States, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have the
highest rates of liver cancer, followed by American Indians/Alaska
Natives and Hispanics/Latinos, African Americans, and whites.
Certain types of
liver disease: The most common risk factor for liver
cancer is infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus
(HCV). These infections lead to cirrhosis and are common in many parts
of the world. In this country, hepatitis C is the most common cause of
liver cancer, while in other countries, hepatitis B is more common.
These viruses are spread from person to person through sharing dirty
needles (such as in drug use), unprotected sex, or childbirth. They can
also be passed on through blood transfusions. This is rare in the
US because blood products are now tested for these viruses.
People with hepatitis A infection do not have an increased risk of
liver cancer.
There are also some inherited liver diseases that increase the
risk of liver cancer.
Cirrhosis: Cirrhosis
is a disease in which liver cells are damaged and replaced with scar
tissue. This can often lead to cancer. In the United States, the major
causes of liver cirrhosis are alcohol abuse and hepatitis B and C.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver is a fairly common disease in which people
who don't drink alcohol develop a fatty liver and go on to develop
cirrhosis. Another cause is a disease (called hemachromatosis) that
results in too much iron in the liver. Some other rare diseases can
cause cirrhosis, too.
Diabetes:
Diabetes can increase the risk of liver cancer. This is more common in
people with diabetes who also have other risk factors such as heavy
drinking and/or hepatitis.
Obesity:
Being very overweight might increase the risk of getting liver cancer.
Aflatoxins:
These cancer-causing substances are made by a fungus that can get into
peanuts, wheat, soybeans, groundnuts, corn, and rice. Long-term
exposure to aflatoxins can increase the risk of liver cancer. In the
United States and Europe, these foods are tested for aflatoxins.
Vinyl chloride
and thorium dioxide (Thorotrast): These chemicals are
risk factors for some types of liver cancer. They have become much less
important since Thorotrast is no longer used and exposure to vinyl
chloride is strictly controlled.
Anabolic
steroids:
These male hormones are used by some athletes to increase
their strength. Long-term use of these can slightly increase the risk
of liver cancer.
Arsenic:
Drinking water that comes from wells can have arsenic in it. This
increases the risk of liver cancer and is a concern in some parts of
the United States.
Last Medical Review: 12/15/2009 Last Revised: 12/15/2009
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