Aa
Rise in HCC Among HepC Patients
Why they don't have more talk about prevention that is correct (another article just told me that hep c is most commonly spread via sex) is a mystery to me. If people don't imagine they could even have HCV (because they don't sleep around) why would they test for it?
(WSB) Liver cancer is on the rise and health officials are pointing to viral hepatitis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States increased from 2.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2001 to 3.2 cases per 100,000 people in 2006. The report also points out that untreated hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections are responsible for about 78 percent of global HCC cases.
-------
At a time when many other cancers in this country are decreasing, or the number of deaths are decreasing, death due to liver cancer has risen by 40 to 50 percent in the last two decades," said DiBiscegli.
What's the cause of the increase?
"We had something of an epidemic of hepatitis C in the United States in the sixties and seventies, and those people who were infected forty or fifty years ago have now lived long enough and have bad enough liver disease to now get liver cancer as a result," said DiBiscegli.
While liver cancer is deadly, DiBiscegli says when found early, it can be treated and cured.
"And so the key is for people to know that if they have hepatitis B or hepatitis C, they can be screened," DiBiscegli said. "Like a woman gets a mammogram once a year, these patients with hepatitis can get certain tests done on a regular basis to try to detect the liver cancer early enough."
Sobering news - just wish that they'd get it all correct and people who need to be tested would know to be tested.
(WSB) Liver cancer is on the rise and health officials are pointing to viral hepatitis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States increased from 2.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2001 to 3.2 cases per 100,000 people in 2006. The report also points out that untreated hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections are responsible for about 78 percent of global HCC cases.
-------
At a time when many other cancers in this country are decreasing, or the number of deaths are decreasing, death due to liver cancer has risen by 40 to 50 percent in the last two decades," said DiBiscegli.
What's the cause of the increase?
"We had something of an epidemic of hepatitis C in the United States in the sixties and seventies, and those people who were infected forty or fifty years ago have now lived long enough and have bad enough liver disease to now get liver cancer as a result," said DiBiscegli.
While liver cancer is deadly, DiBiscegli says when found early, it can be treated and cured.
"And so the key is for people to know that if they have hepatitis B or hepatitis C, they can be screened," DiBiscegli said. "Like a woman gets a mammogram once a year, these patients with hepatitis can get certain tests done on a regular basis to try to detect the liver cancer early enough."
Sobering news - just wish that they'd get it all correct and people who need to be tested would know to be tested.
Hector,
In the article you pasted I noticed a couple of things that are contrary to what I've learned while going through the transplant screening process. From the UNOS site:
There were 12,213 patients active on the liver transplant waiting list on December 31, 2007, a decrease from 2006 (Figure IV-1) [Table 9.1a]. This is the smallest waiting list since 1999 when there were 12,044 patients on the waiting list at the year's end. New registrations increased from 11,036 in 2006 to 11,081 in 2007, but the number of inactive patients on the waiting list has remained stable at around 4,200 for the past five years. All of the waiting list characteristics are based on a snapshot of the list on the last day of the calendar year.
Additionally livers are not allocated based on "people who will have the best prognosis after transplantation" but rather who has the highest MELD score and is theoretically the sickest patient on the list. The pre-screening for transplant does take into account graft survival risks (drug and/or alcohol use, smoking, solid support group, etc.)
Becksta29,
You've got a hold of some very inaccurate info if you have heard that sex is the most common form of HCV transmission. The CDC doesn't even feel sex is a threat to people in a monogamous relationship. There are lots of people here that had unprotected sex with a spouse for decades without disease transmission. HCV is passed on by blood transfer so some forms of sex may pose a risk but it is generally considered to be small. The most common means of transmittal these days is IV drug use. In 1980's or earlier infected blood products were a key source of transmission.
In the article you pasted I noticed a couple of things that are contrary to what I've learned while going through the transplant screening process. From the UNOS site:
There were 12,213 patients active on the liver transplant waiting list on December 31, 2007, a decrease from 2006 (Figure IV-1) [Table 9.1a]. This is the smallest waiting list since 1999 when there were 12,044 patients on the waiting list at the year's end. New registrations increased from 11,036 in 2006 to 11,081 in 2007, but the number of inactive patients on the waiting list has remained stable at around 4,200 for the past five years. All of the waiting list characteristics are based on a snapshot of the list on the last day of the calendar year.
Additionally livers are not allocated based on "people who will have the best prognosis after transplantation" but rather who has the highest MELD score and is theoretically the sickest patient on the list. The pre-screening for transplant does take into account graft survival risks (drug and/or alcohol use, smoking, solid support group, etc.)
Becksta29,
You've got a hold of some very inaccurate info if you have heard that sex is the most common form of HCV transmission. The CDC doesn't even feel sex is a threat to people in a monogamous relationship. There are lots of people here that had unprotected sex with a spouse for decades without disease transmission. HCV is passed on by blood transfer so some forms of sex may pose a risk but it is generally considered to be small. The most common means of transmittal these days is IV drug use. In 1980's or earlier infected blood products were a key source of transmission.
wow they think sex is the most common way to spread it,omg now im worry'n lol.i really am confused as some say its very hard n some say its std.
i agree every1 should b tested for hepc n other things too to stop the spread cos imagine all the familys that share things cos they think they r all clean but really they have hepc n they r giving it to there loved ones without knowing it n 1 lil blood test could solve everything.
i agree every1 should b tested for hepc n other things too to stop the spread cos imagine all the familys that share things cos they think they r all clean but really they have hepc n they r giving it to there loved ones without knowing it n 1 lil blood test could solve everything.
I agree that everybody should be checked for HCV. It is a shame that doctors don't believe that too.
The article lacks detail on HCC. Here is some more info from the "Providence Liver and Pancreas Clinic" about HCC for those interested. Including who should be tested and monitored for HCC if they have HCV.
Does everyone with hepatitis C eventually develop liver cancer?
No — in fact, most don’t. Only people who develop cirrhosis as a complication of hepatitis C have a higher risk of developing liver cancer. About 20 percent of people with hepatitis C develop cirrhosis — advanced liver scarring caused by decades of inflammation. Of those who do develop cirrhosis, about 20 percent eventually develop liver cancer. So overall, among all people with hepatitis C, the chance of developing liver cancer at some point in your life is about 4 percent.
What makes some people with hepatitis C more or less likely to get liver cancer?
If you don’t develop cirrhosis, then you are at no higher risk of liver cancer than the general public. Having cirrhosis is what raises the risk, so anything that increases your risk of developing cirrhosis will also increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
Alcohol consumption is the key risk factor here. People with hepatitis C should not drink alcohol, since it can accelerate liver damage. Certain prescription and non-prescription drugs also can damage the liver, so people with hepatitis C should review their medications with their physician to make sure they aren’t taking anything that could put further stress on their liver. Finally, smoking increases the risk of all cancers, including liver cancer, so people with hepatitis C should not smoke.
How does hepatitis C lead to liver cancer?
Hepatitis C inflames the liver, and over the course of many years, this inflammation can lead to scarring. Most people with hepatitis C never experience significant scarring or complications, but about 20 percent develop cirrhosis, which is advanced scarring throughout the liver.
Because hepatitis C is a slowly progressive virus, it can take 30 or 40 years for cirrhosis to develop. Meanwhile, the liver is resilient — when damage occurs, the liver goes to work to regenerate itself. We believe that cancer occurs during this ongoing cycle of injury and regeneration. The more cells the liver regenerates, the higher the chances that a mutation will occur in one of those cells, and it’s these mutations that can lead to hepatocellular cancer.
Is there a way to screen people with hepatitis C to check for liver cancer?
Yes. Ultrasound is the main screening tool used to check for tumors in the liver. Ultrasound is non-invasive and can detect tumors when they are quite small.
Should everyone with hepatitis C get ultrasound screenings?
Since liver cancer is a complication of cirrhosis, people who don’t have cirrhosis don’t need to be monitored closely for liver cancer. But people who do have cirrhosis should definitely get regular ultrasound screenings to check for liver tumors.
How often should a person with cirrhosis get screened for liver cancer?
At the Providence Liver and Pancreas Clinic, we recommend that people with cirrhosis get an ultrasound screening twice a year. The more vigilant you are about getting these screenings regularly, the better your chances of catching cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful.
Are there any symptoms of liver cancer that a person should watch for?
Liver cancer usually doesn’t present any outward symptoms in its early stages, which is why regular screening is so important. Signs of advanced liver cancer may include pain, tenderness or a lump on the upper right side of the abdomen; enlargement of the abdomen; jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes); easy bruising or bleeding; nausea; fatigue; loss of appetite; unexplained weight loss; or pain around the right shoulder blade.
Can liver cancer be treated?
In many cases, yes. The treatment options generally depend on the size and the number of tumors in the liver. That’s why we say that the best treatment for liver cancer is appropriate surveillance, which means keeping your ultrasound appointments so we can catch cancer when it is most treatable.
What are the options for a person whose cancer is caught early?
If tumors are found when they are small and there aren’t many of them, we can remove them either through surgery (“resection”) or through radiofrequency ablation.
Advances in minimally invasive surgery are making it possible to perform many tumor resections through tiny half-inch incisions, rather than opening up a large incision. These “laparoscopic” techniques minimize trauma to surrounding tissues and leave patients with just two or three tiny scars.
While resection involves cutting tumors out, radiofrequency ablation involves zapping or burning tumors with localized electrical energy, which destroys the tumor and a small margin of tissue around the outside of it. This procedure can be performed laparoscopically, as well.
Both tumor resection and radiofrequency ablation have the potential to cure a patient of liver cancer.
What if a person has a large tumor, or a large number of tumors?
In this case, we can’t cut out or burn out the tumors, because a person with cirrhosis wouldn’t have enough healthy liver tissue left in reserve to tolerate it. Instead, we use interventional therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, to try to slow the growth or reduce the size of the tumors.
The final treatment option is a liver transplant. A person whose primary tumor is less than 5 centimeters in diameter, or who has no more than three small tumors (each less than 3 cm), can get on the transplant list. However, only about 7,000 livers become available for transplant each year, and there are about 55,000 people on the waiting list in the United States. Preference is given to people who will have the best prognosis after transplantation.
What is the prognosis after a liver transplant? Even if it cures the liver cancer, doesn’t the patient still have hepatitis C?
A transplant won’t cure hepatitis C, but it will remove the cancer and the cirrhosis. Remember that hepatitis C is a slowly progressing virus, and it can take decades to lead to cirrhosis — the main risk factor for liver cancer. After a transplant, the new liver will become infected with hepatitis C, but it will take at least 10 or 15 years for cirrhosis to develop. That gives patients an extra 10 or 15 years of health and hope, during which time scientists will continue to develop more effective therapies.
Cheers!
HectorSF
Does everyone with hepatitis C eventually develop liver cancer?
No — in fact, most don’t. Only people who develop cirrhosis as a complication of hepatitis C have a higher risk of developing liver cancer. About 20 percent of people with hepatitis C develop cirrhosis — advanced liver scarring caused by decades of inflammation. Of those who do develop cirrhosis, about 20 percent eventually develop liver cancer. So overall, among all people with hepatitis C, the chance of developing liver cancer at some point in your life is about 4 percent.
What makes some people with hepatitis C more or less likely to get liver cancer?
If you don’t develop cirrhosis, then you are at no higher risk of liver cancer than the general public. Having cirrhosis is what raises the risk, so anything that increases your risk of developing cirrhosis will also increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
Alcohol consumption is the key risk factor here. People with hepatitis C should not drink alcohol, since it can accelerate liver damage. Certain prescription and non-prescription drugs also can damage the liver, so people with hepatitis C should review their medications with their physician to make sure they aren’t taking anything that could put further stress on their liver. Finally, smoking increases the risk of all cancers, including liver cancer, so people with hepatitis C should not smoke.
How does hepatitis C lead to liver cancer?
Hepatitis C inflames the liver, and over the course of many years, this inflammation can lead to scarring. Most people with hepatitis C never experience significant scarring or complications, but about 20 percent develop cirrhosis, which is advanced scarring throughout the liver.
Because hepatitis C is a slowly progressive virus, it can take 30 or 40 years for cirrhosis to develop. Meanwhile, the liver is resilient — when damage occurs, the liver goes to work to regenerate itself. We believe that cancer occurs during this ongoing cycle of injury and regeneration. The more cells the liver regenerates, the higher the chances that a mutation will occur in one of those cells, and it’s these mutations that can lead to hepatocellular cancer.
Is there a way to screen people with hepatitis C to check for liver cancer?
Yes. Ultrasound is the main screening tool used to check for tumors in the liver. Ultrasound is non-invasive and can detect tumors when they are quite small.
Should everyone with hepatitis C get ultrasound screenings?
Since liver cancer is a complication of cirrhosis, people who don’t have cirrhosis don’t need to be monitored closely for liver cancer. But people who do have cirrhosis should definitely get regular ultrasound screenings to check for liver tumors.
How often should a person with cirrhosis get screened for liver cancer?
At the Providence Liver and Pancreas Clinic, we recommend that people with cirrhosis get an ultrasound screening twice a year. The more vigilant you are about getting these screenings regularly, the better your chances of catching cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful.
Are there any symptoms of liver cancer that a person should watch for?
Liver cancer usually doesn’t present any outward symptoms in its early stages, which is why regular screening is so important. Signs of advanced liver cancer may include pain, tenderness or a lump on the upper right side of the abdomen; enlargement of the abdomen; jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes); easy bruising or bleeding; nausea; fatigue; loss of appetite; unexplained weight loss; or pain around the right shoulder blade.
Can liver cancer be treated?
In many cases, yes. The treatment options generally depend on the size and the number of tumors in the liver. That’s why we say that the best treatment for liver cancer is appropriate surveillance, which means keeping your ultrasound appointments so we can catch cancer when it is most treatable.
What are the options for a person whose cancer is caught early?
If tumors are found when they are small and there aren’t many of them, we can remove them either through surgery (“resection”) or through radiofrequency ablation.
Advances in minimally invasive surgery are making it possible to perform many tumor resections through tiny half-inch incisions, rather than opening up a large incision. These “laparoscopic” techniques minimize trauma to surrounding tissues and leave patients with just two or three tiny scars.
While resection involves cutting tumors out, radiofrequency ablation involves zapping or burning tumors with localized electrical energy, which destroys the tumor and a small margin of tissue around the outside of it. This procedure can be performed laparoscopically, as well.
Both tumor resection and radiofrequency ablation have the potential to cure a patient of liver cancer.
What if a person has a large tumor, or a large number of tumors?
In this case, we can’t cut out or burn out the tumors, because a person with cirrhosis wouldn’t have enough healthy liver tissue left in reserve to tolerate it. Instead, we use interventional therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, to try to slow the growth or reduce the size of the tumors.
The final treatment option is a liver transplant. A person whose primary tumor is less than 5 centimeters in diameter, or who has no more than three small tumors (each less than 3 cm), can get on the transplant list. However, only about 7,000 livers become available for transplant each year, and there are about 55,000 people on the waiting list in the United States. Preference is given to people who will have the best prognosis after transplantation.
What is the prognosis after a liver transplant? Even if it cures the liver cancer, doesn’t the patient still have hepatitis C?
A transplant won’t cure hepatitis C, but it will remove the cancer and the cirrhosis. Remember that hepatitis C is a slowly progressing virus, and it can take decades to lead to cirrhosis — the main risk factor for liver cancer. After a transplant, the new liver will become infected with hepatitis C, but it will take at least 10 or 15 years for cirrhosis to develop. That gives patients an extra 10 or 15 years of health and hope, during which time scientists will continue to develop more effective therapies.
Cheers!
HectorSF
There is a lot of inaccurate information on HCV out there. What upsets me personally is that this opinion is being formed that if you have HCV, it means most likely you've used drugs at some point in your life. They name it the main reason of infection, and only some articles mention blood transfusions or terrible mistakes by medical and dental professionals not keeping their equipment sterile. I do believe that recent cases when some clinics admitted that they might had contributed to HCV epidemy, is only a top of an iceberg. I believe patients get HCV a lot more often from medical and dental procedures, than they are willing to admit.
My concern is - when are they going to do something real about educating public on HCV? What can be done to eliminate the risks from poor sterilization techniques? And finally, I beleive EVERYONE should be tested for HCV, as so many have no idea they are infected, thus spread this virus without even knowing it.
My concern is - when are they going to do something real about educating public on HCV? What can be done to eliminate the risks from poor sterilization techniques? And finally, I beleive EVERYONE should be tested for HCV, as so many have no idea they are infected, thus spread this virus without even knowing it.
Great follow up article.
no one knows how many really have it, but the slogan " are you one in twelve" is sobering
Oh yeah and now they are saying 5.3 million people in the US have HCV. I still thought it was like 3million.
http://topnews.us/content/219357-report-says-hepatitis-infections-main-reason-increase-liver-cancer-us
http://topnews.us/content/219357-report-says-hepatitis-infections-main-reason-increase-liver-cancer-us
You are reading content posted in the Hepatitis C Community
Learn about this treatable virus.
Getting tested for this viral infection.
3 key steps to getting on treatment.
4 steps to getting on therapy.
What you need to know about Hep C drugs.
How the drugs might affect you.
These tips may up your chances of a cure.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
