What are my chances if I have liver cancer?

Question

My liver enzymes have been consistantly elevated. I worry I may have something serious like liver cancer. Some info would be great.

Answer 1

OK, elevated enzymes don't readily point at Ca Liver, but a liver Pathology.
So unless your doctor does not run a sonogram of liver, and a CT scan of Liver or a nuclear imaging after giving you colloid sulfur and may be if advisable he can go for FNA Biopsy of liver.
FNA Biopsy is advisable if admissible, as other diseases can be diagnosed e.g. Hep C etc.
However a cancerous liver is stony hard, with severe weight loss.
Your physician, let him do the thinking.
You can discuss the above points with your consultant.

Answer 2

Elevated liver enzymes can be a sign that
there is inflammation in the liver cells. This
inflammation can come from a variety of
reasons: medication use, exposure to
chemicals, virus infection, hereditary reasons
like iron/copper being held in the body,
biliary disorders that cause the bile ducts
(tube like structures leading from inside the
liver to the intestines) becoming blocked or
malformed or twisted. Alcohol and other
substance abuse. This inflammation can
be treated by a doctor to decrease and the
liver can heal. If you can eliminate any
cause of the liver from becoming inflamed now,
like alcohol or unnecessary medications that
you take over the counter or herbs, the
condition can reverse and heal the liver.
However, whatever is causing the
inflammation has to be treated and taken care
of before it may turn to the death of the cells
which is known as cirrhosis. Some people
have "slightly" elevated liver enzymes all their
lives and it is considered normal for them.
You need to find out the cause. The doctor
can do blood tests to see how the liver
is functioning, he can do an ultrasound or
CT scan which can show him any signs
of abnormalities. The best test to determine
the cause is the liver biopsy. You said your enzymes are consistantly elevated, so I believe you are under doctor care and you are not
being informed what this all means.

If you have cancer of the liver, it will depend
on a number of things of your chances.
What kind of cancer it is, whether it has left
the liver and gone to other organs, whether it
is in just one part of the liver or there is more
than one tumor...there is so much involved
it is hard to state all here. They do have a
way now that they try to cut off the blood
supply going to the cancer in the liver and
also they are finding ways to put the chemo
right into the tumor of the liver so that it
doesn't have an effect on other parts of the
body.

My suggestion is to talk openly with your
doctor about what is going on...you are paying
him to explain things to you and to let you know
your true condition. The best doctor to have
for a liver problem is a Hepatologist...see if
you can be referred to one. I would not
take any medication over the counter without
checking first with your doctor. Tylenol and
other pain medication have been shown to
cause liver damage. I would start to eat the
best you can now, giving your body the
right nourishment, vitamins and minerals it
needs from good food sources is the best
you can do to help your body heal.
These are just a few suggestions and I hope
you find them beneficial.

Here is a link on cancer of the liver
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/liver

Here is a link on liver function tests and what
they mean.
http://www.labtestsonline.org.uk/understanding/analytes/liver_panel/glance.html

The doctor usually checks certain tests for
the liver:
The liver enzymes are the ALT, AST, and
Alka Phos
The liver function is the: INR, bilirubin, and
albumin tests. This site will explain them
by clicking on the names or inserting them to
search....but they also can be plugged into
the main search engine which will provide
even more information for you.

Answer 3

Has your doctor told you why he/she thinks your liver enzymes are elevated? Has he/she recommended any other diagnostic tests? Do you have a family history of cancer? Any other symptoms or risk factors? My understanding is that elevated liver enzymes can be caused by a number of conditions, some serious, some not so.

Here's some information from the trusted Merck Manual that you may find helpful:

'A variety of diagnostic tests help doctors assess disorders of the liver, gallbladder, and biliary tract (the ducts that connect the liver and gallbladder and that transport bile). Among the most important are a group of blood tests known as liver function tests. However, the term is somewhat misleading because most such tests do not test the metabolic or bile-secreting functions of the liver. Rather, they detect inflammation of or damage to the liver. Such blood tests represent a noninvasive way to screen for the presence of liver disease (for example, hepatitis in blood donations) and to measure the severity and progress of liver disease and its response to treatment.

Depending on the suspected problem, a doctor may also order certain imaging tests, such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), or cholangiography of the bile ducts using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or x-rays. Also, a doctor may take a sample of liver tissue for examination under a microscope, a procedure called a liver biopsy.

Answer 4

That can be one indication of cancer. However, other things like hepatitis, chronic alcoholism, and metabolic distrubances can also lead to elevated liver enzymes. Have they ever run an alpha-fetoprotein or perhaps done an ultrasound?

Answer 5

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Answer 6

liver enzymes is a sign that your body is fighting infections..Go to the Dr. and get checked...God bless you,and always think positive, when your facing something...

Answer 7

Make an appointment with your doctor ASAP. The sooner the tests are run, the better you will be able to decide on a treatment.

Answer 8

Are you taking anything for cholesteral???? Thses drugs will increase enzymes. Drinking can also do it.

Answer 9

Think positively about it.. and do not make it happen by thinking it will...

Take care of yourself and refuse to accept a death sentence.. a lot of our medical problems are worsened by accepting them without a real fight.

Answer 10

You have to trust in GOD ,and get the doctor help,for advice try to contact Iraqi or Egyptian doctors, they are good and helpful trust me my mother faced the same problem and she is now better clearly.