Liver cancer symptoms in women

Liver cancer symptoms in women don’t differ very much from liver cancer symptoms in men. The only difference is that they are more obviously seen in women.

Liver cancer is one of the most dominant cancer types in the world and it appears more often in people who are of African or Asian origin. Men have more predispositions to develop liver cancer than women.

About Liver Cancer

There is more than one form of liver cancer. In case when cancer develops directly from liver cells, it is called primary liver cancer. Liver metastasis is a condition in which cancer spreads from other organs such as the stomach, lungs, breasts, and others to the liver.

According to studies, liver cancers take fifth place in the world. There is little chance of survival if you have liver cancer; one year is the average duration of life for a patient suffering from liver cancer. After a thorough following of patients who were diagnosed with liver cancer, it was determined that it is difficult to diagnose liver cancer at an early stage, which is why the mortality is so high.

Worldwide, liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death. In the United States, rates are highest in American Indian/Alaska Native individuals. The number of new cases of liver cancer continues to increase, making it the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

The most common type of liver cancer in adults, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), typically develops in people with chronic (long-lasting) liver disease caused by hepatitis virus infection or cirrhosis. Men are more likely to develop HCC than women. People with multiple risk factors have an even higher risk.
The risk of developing liver cancer is increased for people who have cirrhosis, a disease in which healthy liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue. The scar tissue blocks the flow of blood through the liver and keeps it from working as it should. Chronic alcoholism and chronic hepatitis infections are common causes of cirrhosis. People with HCV-related cirrhosis have a higher risk of developing liver cancer than people with cirrhosis related to HBV or alcohol use.
The risk of developing liver cancer may be increased by eating foods that contain aflatoxin B1 (poison from a fungus that can grow on foods, such as corn and nuts, that have been stored in hot, humid places). It is most common in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and China.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition that can cause cirrhosis that may lead to liver cancer. It is the most severe form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, where there is an abnormal amount of fat in the liver. In some people, this can cause inflammation and injury to the cells of the liver.
Cigarette smoking has been linked to a higher risk of liver cancer. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years the person has smoked.

✓ Fact confirmed: Liver Cancer Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention National Cancer Institute Editorial Team; May 18, 2022

Symptoms of Liver Cancer in Women

The practice showed that symptoms of liver cancer in men and women are not so different; they are the same except for the fact that some symptoms are more often seen in women. In most cases, signs and symptoms of liver cancer include weight loss that can’t be explained, loss of appetite, pain in the upper area of the abdomen, etc.

Other possible symptoms that may indicate liver cancer are yellow circles around the eyes and nails, and the outcome of that is jaundice. Depending on the cancer type, symptoms can change, but generally, they are more evident in women than in men.

Unfortunately, they can often be mistaken for the symptoms that appear due to PMS or ovarian cancer. Weakness, pain around the right shoulder blade, anemia, anorexia, and other possible symptoms can appear if a woman has liver cancer. Sadly, women most often ignore these symptoms and blame them on their lifestyle and diet.

Liver Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

A diagnosis for liver cancer is the same for men and women. It includes blood tests, liver biopsy, CT scan, MRI, and other tests.

The treatment is also the same and it includes radiation therapy, heating (radiofrequency ablation) or freezing (cryoablation) cancer, and other methods.

So, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, if you notice or experience any of these symptoms, it would be good to visit a doctor and do a thorough check-up of your body so that you can exclude any possibility of liver cancer. If liver cancer is there, then the treatment of liver cancer can bring some positive results.