Questions and Answers - Liver Health

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Answers to common questions on Liver Health

Click on the "plus" sign to reveal explanation for each question.

Liver specialists have estimated the fact that if you have 3 drinks a day or higher, then you put yourself at risk of cirrhosis; a condition of scarring of the liver that often leads to liver cancer.

Researchers believe hepatitis C and obesity, along with diabetes, are the main causes for the increasing rates of liver cancer. Obesity and metabolic syndrome — characterized by abdominal obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol — are established risk factors of liver cancer. Metabolic syndrome could lead to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (inflammation in the liver along with fat deposition), which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

These are relatively recent observations, so therapeutic interventions to lower liver cancer risk have not been fully established. One could, of course, follow common sense: lower weight, have a healthy diet, exercise regularly to prevent metabolic syndrome.

  • Avoid excessive intake of alcohol.
  • Get the hepatitis B vaccination.
  • Avoid dangerous behavior that increases the risk of hepatitis C: sharing needles or syringes, multiple sex partners, unsafe sex with infected individuals.
  • Get guidelines-approved treatments for hepatitis B and or C.
  • If you know that you have any form of chronic liver disease, it is important to see a liver specialist

If you already have cirrhosis, then you need to have routine surveillance to catch cancer early. Surveillance includes liver ultrasound and a blood test for a tumor marker known as alpha fetoprotein.

If the disease is caught early, then you can cure it in centres that have facilities for treatment. Surveillance for people who have chronic liver disease is helpful to catch small tumors early. The chances of cure are much higher when the cancer is early (no more than 3 tumors and less than 3 centimeters in maximum size). The two main treatments that provide a cure include liver transplant and surgery to remove the tumor.

Although those with chronic hepatitis B infection live with an increased risk of developing liver disease later in life, many should expect to live long and healthy lives. Someone with chronic hepatitis B should be seen by a liver specialist every six months, or more often as needed. The latter is the case, even if there is no evidence of active infection.

There's no cure for hepatitis B. Most carriers are contagious — meaning they can spread hepatitis B — for the rest of their lives. Hepatitis B infections that last a long time may lead to serious liver diseases like cirrhosis and liver cancer. About 1 in 5 people with chronic hepatitis B die from it. There are effective medications that can be used to treat hepatitis B.

Symptoms will go away in a few weeks to months if your body is able to fight off the infection. Some people never get rid of the HBV. This is called chronic hepatitis B. Over time, they may develop symptoms of liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver.

If blood tests show HBeAg-negative and there are no signs of liver damage with normal ALT, this may mean that a patient is on his or her way to clearing the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and in rare cases may develop surface antibodies

After receiving all three doses, Hepatitis B vaccine provides greater than 90% protection to infants, children, and adults immunized before being exposed to the virus. Yes, the Hepatitis B vaccine is safe.

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