Alcohol not only negatively affects the digestive system, but can also lead to other difficult-to-treat diseases. About whether it is possible to get liver cancer by abusing alcohol, said the chief surgeon of the SM-Clinic, professor, MD. oncologist, surgeon of the highest category Rashid Evgenievich Kuzeev.
Of course, not everyone who drinks alcohol will develop liver cancer, but the risk begins to increase even with a small amount of alcohol. So the less you drink, the lower the risk.
“Alcohol destroys cells, negatively affects them, causes inflammation of the liver tissue, hence a large number of mutations and a significantly greater risk of developing a malignant liver tumor,” the doctor emphasizes.
Alcohol abuse is very toxic to the liver. It can cause permanent liver damage called cirrhosis, which in turn is the biggest risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. Other risk factors are chronic hepatitis B or C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can also lead to cirrhosis. Another risk factor is smoking.
In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that alcohol consumption is responsible for 50% of all liver cirrhosis deaths and 12% of liver cancer deaths worldwide.
Symptoms of liver cancer include:
- Sudden, noticeable weight loss
- Low or no appetite and feeling full even after small meals
- Nausea and vomiting for two or more days
- Abdominal pain or swelling of the tissues
- The appearance of a lump in the form of a bump on the right side of the abdomen
- Itching
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
< li>Inexplicable feeling of fatigue
Primary and secondary liver cancer
It is necessary to distinguish, Rashid Kuzeev clarifies, types of liver cancer. It can be primary – it is directly a tumor growing from liver cells, and secondary – in this case we are talking about metastases that appear in the liver with cancer of other organs. Usually in our practice we encounter secondary liver cancer – it occurs 25-30 times more often than primary. And both of them require immediate treatment – usually surgery combined with drug therapy.
New technology for cancer treatment
Modern medicine has the ability to cure hepatocellular cancer without major surgery (if indicated). This is microwave ablation of the tumor, MVA. “Low-traumatic, a method that allows you to destroy a liver tumor, both primary and secondary, without a long, difficult operation,” explains Rashid Kuzeev. -3000 Hz, which is fed to a special electrode connected to a small device. Surgeons use ultrasonic guidance to ensure precision. Tumor tissues are heated to 120-150 C°, as a result of such exposure they are destroyed. The whole procedure takes no more than 20 minutes.
Of course, the patient's lifestyle also plays an important role in the fight against the disease, the doctor emphasizes. Diet, giving up alcohol and smoking can speed up the process of restoring the normal structure of the liver tissue and shorten the rehabilitation period. 
Rashid Evgenievich Kuzeev Medicine Chief surgeon “SM-Clinic”, professor, MD oncologist, surgeon of the highest category