Abnormal jaundice, beware of liver cancer-Life Health

Sudden jaundice accompanied by sharp pain in the right lower quadrant, the male patient went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a liver tumor with signs of metastasis. Liver cancer is at the top of the list of cancers in Vietnam, and the community needs to actively screen for early detection and treatment.

On May 3, information from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City said that a NVV patient (51 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) was admitted to the hospital with a sharp pain in the right lower quadrant, a mild fever that did not decrease. and mild jaundice appears.

Liver cancer is the most common disease among cancers in Vietnam (photo: illustration)

Doctors performed diagnostic ultrasound combined with laboratory tests and magnetic resonance imaging. The results show that the patient has Liver Cancer with a tumor in the liver nearly 4cm in size with signs of metastasis. After consultation, the doctors performed surgery to remove the part of the liver carrying the tumor combined with drug treatment to prevent metastasis from developing. The surgery was successful, now the patient’s health is recovering well and continues to be monitored and treated.

Liver cancer is the type of cancer with the highest annual incidence rate among cancers in Vietnam. According to statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), Vietnam has a rate of have liver cancer 3rd tallest man in the world.

Assoc. Prof. TS.BS Bui Huu Hoang, Head of Gastroenterology Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, said that people with chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C and cirrhosis are often at high risk. have liver cancer. According to statistics, 80-90% of patients had cirrhosis at the time of liver cancer diagnosis.

In addition, people with a history of fatty liver, type II diabetes or other factors such as genetics, alcoholism, smoking, etc. are also at risk of liver cancer.

Screening for early detection and treatment will minimize the consequences of liver cancer

Specific liver cancer symptoms often do not appear in the early stages. To screen for liver cancer, patients will have to perform a number of methods such as ultrasound imaging combined with tests to measure AFP levels in the blood, laparoscopy, biopsy, X-ray tomography. and magnetic resonance imaging.

According to Dr. BS Tran Cong Duy Long, Head of the Hepatobiliary Cancer Unit, periodic health checks help detect liver disease early, help patients receive timely treatment and can be cured completely. When detecting the disease in the early stages, liver cancer can be treated thoroughly with the following methods: burning the tumor with high-frequency waves (when the tumor size is less than 3 cm), surgical removal of the part of the liver carrying the mass. tumor and liver transplant surgery.

When the disease progresses to advanced or late stages, the patient will be prescribed systemic therapy. In addition to classical chemotherapy: chemotherapy and tumor feeding embolization (TACE).

Besides, there are many effective treatment options for liver cancer such as: targeted therapy (stops the growth of cancer cells), immunotherapy (activates the body’s immune system to destroy itself). cancer cells), vascular antibiotic therapy (inhibits the growth of blood vessels in the tumor).