indicator of breast cancer risk

Mammographic density as an indicator of breast cancer risk.

The mammogram depicts the constituent tissues of the normal breast, and is taken to show the features of pathology. This technique is now widely used for the early diagnosis of breast cancer by screening of the normal population. The tissues making up the mammographic image can essentially be viewed as those with the radiographic characteristics of water and those of fat.

In addition, some pathologies demonstrate calcification, which is always due to an abnormal process, although many of these processes are benign, and of no consequence to the woman. Since the 1970s, starting with observations made by Wolfe, there has been interest in why some women have a greater proportion of dense tissue proposed four than others.

In 1976, Wolfe categories for separating women with different amounts of dense tissue and proposed that there was a relationship between the densest mammographic pattern and cancer risk.this hypothesis was debated in the literature for two decades, and was largely not believed by radiologists. In the past few years, greater credence has been given to this hypothesis, and it is now recognised that the densest mammographic patterns express a four to six times increased risk of breast cancer when compared with the least dense. Readmore....

How does screening work?

How does screening work?

As neither the causal pathways for breast cancer nor the means of preventing it are known, the only intervention possible at the moment in healthy women to improve mortality from breast cancer is screening.Trials of chemopreventive agents have produced
conflicting results. While the American NSABP study has demonstrated a 50% reduction in breast cancer incidence in women taking tamoxifen
compared with placebo, these results have not been Further follow- reproduced in the UK or in Italy.Up is required to assess the effect on long-term incidence and mortality.

Although treatment, notably chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, has improved, prognosis still deteriorates rapidly with increasing tumour burden.Screening can advance the diagnosis so that the cancer is treated at an earlier stage with more chance of success. This is reflected in the earlier stage of tumours detected in the study group in the Swedish The progression of the disease is Two-County Trial.The lead time is the interval The longer the lead time for a given case, the better one would expect the prognosis to be.

If the cancer is not detected until it becomes clinically detectable,the lead time is zero. The lead time for an individual case is unobservable, but the distribution of lead times is dependent on the distribution of the time spent in the pre-clinical detectable phase (sojourntime).

The sojourn time is also unobservable, but may be estimated using the method of Walter and Day. This method will also provide an estimate of the sensitivity of the screen, and this may be used
to estimate the optimum screening regime and the potential gains in terms of mortality. For example,if the sojourn time is long, the maximum possible lead time is correspondingly long. If the sojourn
time is short, however, the potential benefit from screening is smaller and screening must take place Readmore....

Screening modalities

Screening modalities

There are three basic potential mass screening tools:

mammography, physical examination by trained staff and breast self-examination (BSE). Mammographyhas been shown to be effective in reducing breast cancer mortality. The Swedish Two County used single mediolateral oblique view Trial mammography alone and achieved a mortality reduction of 32% in women aged 40ñ74. The sensitivity was 91ñ100% for women aged over 50 and 83% for women in the 40ñ49 age group. This maybe due to denser breast tissue in younger women,and sensitivity could possibly be improved by using two-view mammography. The main reason for using a single view in this case was the perceived need in the 1970s to minimise radiation dose.As has already been discussed, with modern mammography techniques this risk is now insignificant.A has study of one- versus two-view mammography shown that by adding a second (craniocaudal)view,the sensitivity of screening during the prevalence round of a population screening programme was increased from 83% to 89% and 14 additional cancers were detected out of a total of 217. The recall rate was also reduced by the addition of a second view, from 8.8% to 6.6%. In conclusion,mammography, particularly with two views, is effective, acceptable and sensitive as a primary screening method.

The effectiveness of clinical examination alone has not been tested, although some trials have used it in conjunction with mammography. In Edinburgh between 1979 and 1981, 45130 women were entered into a randomised controlled trial in which At approximately half were invited to screening.the prevalence round, the study group were offered two-view mammography and clinical examination.Subsequent screens involved clinical examination alone in years 2, 4 and 6, and one-view mammog-raphy plus clinical examination in years 3, 5 and 7.

Although the compliance at the initial screen was poor (61%), and fell at subsequent screens, there did not appear to be any difference in the acceptance of clinical examination and mammography.An analysis has shown the sensitivity of mammography to be 63% and that of clinical examination to The Edinburgh data lack statistical be 40%.power, however, and there is no conclusive evidence to show that clinical examination is effective in reducing mortality. Similar analyses on the HIP data result in sensitivities of 39% and 47% respectively for mammography and clinical examination.

BSE is very difficult to assess, as the only intervention possible is education, and failure to practise seems to be a major disadvantage to the use of BSE as a sole screening method. The sensitivity of BSE is very difficult to measure, but it is assumed that frequent BSE will enable a woman to detect a cancer earlier than less frequent visits for a professional clinical examination. There is some evidence that BSE may lead to a reduction in tumour size at
There is no evidence that BSE diagnosis.contributes to a reduction in mortality, but women should not be discouraged from practising it, as it may contribute to an earlier diagnosis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a relatively new technology that has been shown to have high sensitivity for detecting abnormalities in the 18ñ23 In general, the population at greatest risk breast. Of breast cancer is that of women over the age of 50.In this group, X-ray mammography has been shown to be a relatively cheap, quick and effective modality for breast screening. It is therefore not appropriate to consider MRI as a mass screening tool in the same way. It is more expensive, resources interms of machines and expertise are scarce at present, and scans and their

analyses can be time consuming. However, MRI may have a particular application in screening younger women (aged less than 50) who are at high risk of developing breast cancer. In these
younger, premenopausal women,the breast can be mammographically dense and mammograms are often difficult to interpret.

There is a recognised need to screen women at high familial risk of breast cancer, since the disease may develop at an earlier age than in the general population, but there are concerns
about repeated radiation exposure. With the advent of genetic testing,groups of women at high risk will be identified, for whom X-ray mammography does not provide a satisfactory method of screening for breast cancer.MRI avoids radiation exposure while providing
high sensitivity in detecting breast cancer, even in the mammographically dense breast. Its role in screening is currently under evaluation. Two studies to assess the effectiveness of annual MRI scans compared with annual mammography in the high-genetic-risk group have recently reported from The sensitivity of Canada and the Netherlands.MRI versus mammography in the Canadian and Dutch studies are 79% versus 32%, and 79.5% versus 33.3% respectively. A similar MRC-funded study (MARIBS) was recently published in the UK.

Another group who are considered at high risk of breast cancer are women who have been previously exposed to supradiaphragmatic radiotherapy for MRI is currently Hodgkinís disease at a young age. recommended for breast screening in this group for young women (aged 25ñ29) and those aged 30ñ50 who have dense breasts. No screening is recommended for women aged 25 or under; women aged 30ñ50 with predominantly fatty breasts should have annual two-view mammography; women over the age of 50 will have 3-yearly mammography as normal in the NHSBSP. Readmore....

screening for breast cancer

An introduction to screening for breast cancer

Although mortality from breast cancer has fallen over the last decade, it is still the leading cause of death from cancer among women in the UK. In 2000,over 40000 cases were diagnosed and there were 1ñ4 The aetiology of the disease nearly 13000 deaths.
is not fully understood, although the risk is known to be associated with reproductive and family
history. Screening for breast cancer has been shown to advance the diagnosis of the disease, which can lead to more successful treatment and therefore reduced mortality. This chapter details the evidence upon which breast screening has been introduced on a national scale, with particular reference to the UK.

The natural history of breast cancer is well The disease is believed to usually documented.
have a pre-invasive stage where the carcinoma cells are confined to the duct system within the breast. This may then become invasive and begin to invade the surrounding tissue, and thereafter possibly spread to the lymph nodes or other secondary sites within the body. Breast tumours may disseminate at different stages in their natural history. In some women, and for some types of tumour, this could take years, while in others metastatic spread may take only weeks, depending on the aggressiveness of the cancer. Ideally, screening should detect tumours
while they are still small and before any metastases In order for screening to be effec-have developed.tive, the disease must have a recognisable early stage. In the case of breast cancer, this is the preclin-ical detectable phase where a tumour can be seen on a mammogram but before it becomes palpable (about 1cm in diameter). Tumours in this phase are more likely to be non-invasive or, if already invasive, less likely to have local regional or distant spread.

For screening to be beneficial, treating breast cancer at this earlier stage must also improve the prognosis compared with more advanced cancers. It is not,however, sufficient to compare the survival of women with screen-detected cancers with the survival of those who present symptomatically without removing the effect of various biases.As screening will advance the date of diagnosis,the survival time will automatically be longer even if there is no effect on the actual date of death. Also,less aggressive, slowly growing cancers will spend
more time in the preclinical detectable phase than will rapidly growing cancers, which are more likely to present symptomatically. Screening will therefore detect proportionally more of the slow growing, or non-invasive, cancers, which in turn have a better prognosis. This is known as length bias. There is also the problem of selection bias in which those who attend for screening are more likely to be health-conscious individuals than those who refuse, and would probably have a better prognosis anyway. These biases can be removed by comparing mortal-
ity in a population that was offered screening witht hat in a population that was not offered screening,in the context of a randomised controlled trial.

The suitability of any screening test depends on its accuracy.

It must be able both to detect the majority of women who have breast cancer (high sensitivity) and therefore give few false-negative results, and to eliminate the majority of women who do not have the disease (high specificity), thereby minimising the number of false-positive results. Sensitivity is defined as the proportion of all those with breast cancer present who test positive; specificity is defined as the proportion of all those without the disease who test negative. Ideally, both sensitivity and specificity would be 100%, but there is an inevitable compro-mise as no test is perfect and the two are inversely related to one another. Different screening modalities
will be discussed in more detail later.

For public health, the acceptability of a screening test by the general population is of paramount
importance. The acceptability will be reflected by the rate of compliance with invitation to screening.Levels of between 80% and 90% have been seen in A level of 70% compliance has been Sweden.shown to be effective in reducing breast cancer Latest figures mortality in the target population. show that an acceptance rate of 75.3% has been although there are achieved in the UK as a whole, regional differences and specific groups where more work is needed. Women from minority ethnic groups and women with learning disabilities have
particular needs. A major research project is now underway to look at the information needs of
women from a diverse range of social and cultural backgrounds. Another important consideration in a screening test is that it should do no harm, either physical or
psychological. The potential physical hazards from screening by mammography are the risk from ionis-ing radiation (X-rays) and unnecessary surgical procedures resulting from overdiagnosis of tumours that may never have become invasive in the lifetime of the patient. The radiation risk from mammogra-phy has been very much reduced in recent years.

Due to technical advances, the maximum dose is now about 2.2mGy (compared with 2ñ3cGy in the There is no evidence that this level of past). radiation induces breast cancer, but from the excess breast cancer incidence seen in women exposed to higher doses, it has been inferred that modern mammography may induce one breast cancer in a population of two million women above the age of 50, after a latent period of 10 years. When compared
with the expected natural breast cancer incidence of 1400 cases per million women per year at age 50 and 2000 cases per million women per year at age 65, the risk is considered to be insignificant compared with the potential benefits.

High-quality screening techniques and highly trained technical and radiological staff should
minimise the risk of overdiagnosis. Ideally, the recall rate should be as low as possible. It is also
important that adequate assessment and treatment facilities exist to ensure that women are seen as quickly as possible. In addition, there is a range of non-invasive investigative techniques stopping short of open biopsy that should be employed to reduce the risk of unnecessary surgery. These include ultra-sound, spot views, micromagnification, fine needle aspiration and needle core biopsy. These techniques have greatly reduced the benign biopsy rate.

Screening for breast cancer was introduced in the UK following the recommendations of the Forrest The NHS Breast Report published in 1986. Screening Programme (NHSBSP) initially offered single mediolateral oblique-view mammography to women aged 50ñ64 with an interval of 3 years. Following further research, the programme has been expanded to invite women up to the age of 69 and to offer two-view mammography at all screens.

Screening must be repeated at regular intervals to ensure its effectiveness, as the risk of developing breast cancer increases with age and the growth rate of the disease is variable. There has to be a compro-mise taking into account the cost and practicality of screening too frequently while aiming to let as few cancers as possible escape detection by screening. In the UK, the interval was initially set to 3 years, which reflected the 33-month interval in the
Swedish Two-County Trial, with a recommendation for more research into the screening interval.

The Nottingham Prognosticannual screening.

Index (NPI) was used to compare predicted mortal-ity in the two groups. No significant improvement in predicted mortality was seen in the annual screening group. The screening interval in the NHSBSP therefore remains unchanged at 3 years. Readmore....

Prostate Cancer

Rates of prostate cancer vary widely across the world. It is least common in South and East Asia, more common in Europe, though the rates vary widely between countries, and most common in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is least common among Asian men and most common among black men with figures for European men in between. However, these high rates may be affected by increasing rates of detection. Although prostate cancer can sometimes strike younger men, the risk of getting it increases with age and more than seventy percent of men diagnosed with the disease are over the age of sixty five.

Prostate cancer can occur in men only; the prostate is exculsively of the male reproductive tract. Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate of the male reproductive system, this happens when cells in the prostate begin to grow out of control and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Large collections of this out of control tissue are called tumors. The tumor usually grows slowly and remains confined to the gland for many years. During this time, the tumor produces little or no symptoms or outward signs (abnormalities on physical examination). As the cancer advances, however, it can spread beyond the prostate into the surrounding tissues (local spread). Moreover, the cancer also can metastasize (spread even farther) throughout other areas of the body, such as the bones, lungs, and liver. Symptoms and signs, therefore, are more often associated with advanced prostate cancer. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.

The cause of prostate cancer has not been identified but the cancer is thought to be related to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BHP). The risk factors of prostate cancer include advancing age, heredity, hormonal influences, and such enviromental toxins, chemicals, and industrial products. The best way to try and prevent prostate cancer is to modify the risk factors for the disease that you have control over. You may want to try to eat a low fat diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. Certain foods, vitamins and minerals have been suggested to decrease your chances of getting prostate cancer, however doctors are still studying more data before any particular food or supplement can be endorsed for preventing the disease. Currently, there are studies looking at selenium, lycopen, vitamin A and other retinoids, vitamin D, vitamin E, and soy for prostate cancer prevention.

Since prostate cancer is a disease of older men, many will die of other causes before the disease can spread or cause symptoms. Deciding on treatment can be daunting not only because there are far better options for treatment today that they were ten years ago but also because not enough relaiable data are available on which to base the decisions. Prostate cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, occasionally chemotherapy, or some combination of these.

Most men who have the risk factors do not get the disease, on the other hand men who do get the disease often have no known risk factors, except for growing older. If you think that you may be at risk, you should consult your doctor immediately so that you may be given suggestions on ways of reducing your risk and can plan scheduled check-ups. Readmore....

Thyroid Cancer

Death due to thyroid cancer is uncommon, because of the fact that thyroid cancer is usually an indolent disease, which tends to remain confined to the thyroid gland for many years. Thyroid cancer is fairly common, it accounts for about one percent of all cancers. This type of cancer usually responds well to treatment and many patients can be cured.

Thyroid cancer is a cancer of the thyroid glands, a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam’s apple. The thyroid makes and stores hormones that help regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the rate at which food is converted into energy. The thyroid uses and needs iodine to make several of its hormones. Thyroid hormones also help children grow and develop.

There are four major types of thyroid cancer :

Papillary Tumors

These tumors develop in cells that produce thyroid hormones containing iodine. These cancer cells grow very slowly forming many tiny, mushroom-shaped patterns in the tumor. These tumors can be treated by doctors successfully even when the cells have spread to the nearby lymph nodes. This type of tumor accounts for about sixty percent of all thyroid cancers.

Follicular Thyroid Tumors

These tumors also develop in cells that produce iodine-containing hormones, and have a thin layer of tissue around them, called a capsule. Many follicular tumors are curable but can be difficult to control if the tumor invades blood vessels or grows through the capsule into the nearby structures of the neck.

Medullary Tumors

These tumors affect thyroid cells that produce a hormone that does not contain iodine. These tumors grow slowly but are harder to control than papillary and follicular tumors. The cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

Anaplastic Tumors

These tumors are the fastest growing thyroid tumors. The cancer cells, which are extremely abnormal, spread rapidly to other parts of the body.

The most often symptom of this disease is a nodule in the thyroid region of the neck, but only five percent of these nodules are malignant. Sometimes the first sign is an enlarged lymph node. Other symptoms include hoarseness or difficulty speaking in a normal voice, swollen lymph nodes especially in the neck, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and pain in the throat or neck. However, an infection, a benign goiter, or another problem also could cause these symptoms. Anyone with these symptoms should see a doctor as soon as possible to be diagnosed and treated properly.

Surgery is the most common form of treatment for thyroid cancer that has not spread to distant parts of the body. A part or the entire thyroid and any other affected tissue, such as the lymph nodes is usually removed with this procedure. This procedure however may not be recommended when a patient is found to have thyroid cancer that has spread. Treatment usually includes some form of systematic therapy, a treatment that can kill or slow the growth of the cancer cells throughout the body, such as chemotherapy, radioactive iodine therapy, and/or hormone therapy. Readmore....

Types of Skin Cancer

Types of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is an increasingly common condition, and is partly credited to increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Increased exposure is mainly due to the recent popularity of sun tanning or sun bathing. Lighter-skinned individuals are more vulnerable to this disease.

There are many types of skin cancer, but the most common types are:

Basal Cell Carcinoma ( BCC )

These are the most common types of skin cancer ; it can cause disfiguring and is very destructive. There is greater risk for individuals who have a family history of the disease and those with cumulative exposure to UV light through sunlight, or in the past has been exposed to chemicals especially arsenic. Most basal cell carcinoma can be removed surgically by dermasurgeons. A common method of surgery is electrodessication and curretage (ED&C) where the tumor is scraped out with a curette and cauterizing the base and the margins and the wound is left to heal by itself. The cure rate and cosmetic result for this treatment is excellent especially with concave areas. Other treatment for these types of skin cancer includes topical chemotherapy, x-ray, cryosurgery, photodynamic therapy, or topical immune enhancement drugs such as imiquimod. This type of skin cancer is rarely life-threatening but if left untreated can cause disfiguring, bleeding, and produce local destruction in some parts such as the eye, ear, nose and lip.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma ( SCC )

These types of skin cancer are a malignant tumor of the epithelium that shows squamous cell differentiation. It is a form of cancer of the carcinoma type that may occur in many different organs including the skin, the mouth, esophagus, lungs and cervix. Squamous cell carcinoma is usually developed in the epithelial layer of the skin and sometimes various mucous membranes of the body. These types of cancer can be seen the skin, lips, inside the mouth, throat and esophagus, and is characterized by red scaly skin that becomes an open sore. Smoking is a significant risk factor of this disease. Other risk factors include sun exposure, radiation therapy, exposure to carcinogens, chronic skin irritation or inflammation, genetics diseases, and presence of premalignant lesions. To diagnose this disease, a biopsy is done where a sample is taken and examined under a microscope, and if found to be cancerous, surgery is done to remove it.

Melanoma

These types of skin cancer are the most lethal form of skin cancer. Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes predominantly occur in the skin but can also be found elsewhere, especially in the eye. The large majority of melanomas originate in the skin. As with most forms of cancer, early detection of the disease gives a patient a much better chance of survival. It has been found in studies that exposure to ultraviolet radiation is one of the major contributors to the development of melanoma. Other factors are mutations in or total loss of tumor suppressor genes. Use of sunbeds (with deeply penetrating UVA rays) has been linked to the development of skin cancers, including melanoma. A family history of melanoma greatly increases a person's risk. Any mole that is irregular in color or shape should be examined by a doctor to determine if it is a malignant melanoma, the most serious and life-threatening form of skin cancer. The diagnosis of melanoma requires experience, as early stages may look identical to harmless moles or not have any color at all. Treatment of this type of skin cancer includes surgery, medication or chemotherapy, radiation and other therapies.

All of these types of skin cancer are the most common and should not be taken lightly. When there is doubt of having the signs or symptoms of cancer, seeing the doctor is advised for proper diagnosis and treatment if ever confirmed, this will give the patient greater chance of survival. Readmore....

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is the most common of human cancer. It is estimated that over a million new cases occur annually. The skin is the largest organ of the human body, serving in both a protective layer and aesthetic capacity. Skin cancer refers to several types of malignancies that can occur, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and malignant melanoma. Although the first two types of skin malignancies are usually more treatable and are often described together as nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), melanoma is classified as a separate type of cancer with typically more aggressive behavior and prognosis.

Types of Skin Cancer

Basal cell skin cancer grows slowly. It usually occurs on areas of the skin that have been in the sun, and it is most common on the face. Basal cell cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body.

Squamous cell skin cancer also occurs on parts of the skin that have been in the sun, but it also may be in places that are not in the sun. Squamous cell cancer sometimes spreads to lymph nodes and organs inside the body.

Minor surface skin can cancers care readily treatable by simple surgery, but if the cancer is allowed to grow, it can penetrate through the layers of skin and affect the lymphatic system. It may also spread to other parts of the body (metastasize). Skin cancers which are aggressive, recurrent or located upon ‘high risk sites’ of the body such as the central face, scalp, ears, or genitalia, may require more advanced surgical approaches such as Moh’s micrographic surgery to attain high cure rates.

Signs and Symptoms

There are various symptoms for different skin cancer. These includes sores or changes in the skin that do not heal, ulcers in the skin or, discoloring in parts of the skin, and changes in existing moles.

Basal cell carcinoma usually looks like a raised, smooth, pearly bump on the sun-exposed skin of the head, neck or shoulders. Sometimes small blood vessels can be seen within the tumor. Crusting and bleeding in the center of the tumour frequently develops. It is often mistaken for a sore that does not heal.

Squamous cell carcinoma is commonly a red, scaling, thickened patch on sun-exposed skin. Ulceration and bleeding may occur. When SCC is not treated, it may develop into a large mass.
Most malignant melanomas are brown to black looking lesions. Signs that might indicate a malignant melanoma include change in size, shape, color or elevation of a mole. The appearance of a new mole during adulthood, or new pain, itching, ulceration or bleeding of an existing mole should be checked.

Skin cancer is usually not painful but can sometimes be. Checking your skin for new gorwths or other changes is advisable, but always remember that changes in the skin are not a sure sign of skin cancer. Still you have to let your doctor examine any changes to your skin right away for proper diagnosis and treatment of skin problems. Readmore....

Liver Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma commonly known as liver cancer is a deadly cancer. It will kill almost all patients who have it within a year. The World Health Organization estimated approximately four hundred thirty thousand new cases of liver cancer worldwide and a similar number of patients died as a result of the disease. Most common areas of the world with high rate of people being affected by the disease are the sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

The liver is the largest organ in the body, which is found behind the ribs on the right side of the abdomen and it has two parts: the right lobe and the smaller left lobe. It has many important functions that keep a person healthy; it removes harmful materials from the blood, it makes enzymes and bile that help us digest food, and it also converts food into substances needed for life and growth. The liver gets its supply of blood from two vessels, the hepatic portal vein where most blood comes from, and the rest comes from the hepatic artery.

Hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver, which can be benign or malignant (cancerous). Tumors of the liver occur when there is an inaccuracy in the normal regulation of growth of any cells in the liver, including the liver cells themselves (hepatocyte), the bile duct, or the blood vessels within the liver.

Initial symptoms of liver cancer are unpredictable. In countries where this disease is very common, generally the cancer is discovered at a very advanced stage of the disease because of several reasons; one of them being the areas where there is high frequency of the disease are usually developing countries and access to healthcare is limited, another is screening examinations for patients at risk for developing the cancer are not available in these areas. To add up to these, patients from these regions actually have more aggressive liver cancer diseases therefore reaching the advanced stage more rapidly. Symptoms of this disease include pain in the upper abdomen on the right side (the pain may extend to the back and shoulder), swollen abdomen (bloating), weight loss, loss of appetite and feelings of fullness, weakness or feeling very tired, nausea and vomiting, yellow skin and eyes, dark urine from jaundice, and fever.

The best way to prevent liver cancer is avoiding the risk factors that are linked with it. Keeping away from the excessive use of alcohol and quitting smoking can reduce the risk of liver cancer. Preventing and treating HBV and HCV infections is also important. In other parts of the world, changing the way that foods are stored and processed can decrease the risk of aflatoxin exposure. Proper treatment of water can reduce the risk of arsenic in drinking water. Right treatment of inherited diseases associated with cirrhosis and liver cancer can reduce the risk of developing either of the disease. Although the risk of liver cancer can never be diminished to zero, it can be significantly reduced by avoiding known risk factors. Readmore....