The exact cause of liver cancer is not known, but several factors may increase the risk of developing the disease. Since there are no standard or routine screening tests for liver cancer, it's important to talk with your doctor if you have a family history of the disease or other known risk factors. If you have an elevated risk of developing liver cancer, there may be certain tests available to help identify it at an early stage, when it’s most treatable.
Many risk factors have been associated with liver cancer. Some risk factors can be controlled, while others cannot. Not everyone with one or more of these risk factors will develop the disease, and the disease will develop in some people who don’t have any known risk factors.
The risks associated with each of these factors are a cumulative issue. That means that the more of these factors an individual has, the more likely they will develop liver cancer. Talk to your primary care provider about whether you should start a liver screening program if you have any of the above-listed risk factors. Your doctor can also offer suggestions to help you lower your risk.
Liver cancer screenings are medical tests and evaluations that determine if cancer is present, even if you don’t have symptoms. Most health insurance plans will cover liver cancer screening if your medical history indicates that you’re at an elevated risk. If you have one or more liver cancer risk factors, it’s important to talk to your doctor about liver cancer screening. Together, you can develop a plan to see if you need to be screened regularly for liver cancer.
When you enter into a screening plan for liver cancer, there are several different methods that your doctor can use, and in some cases, they may use more than one. The most common are:
If further testing is needed after the initial exam and blood test, the doctor may order one or more of the following:
Liver cancer screenings are set at periodic intervals throughout an individual’s life. You may be screened more or less frequently based on the presence or absence of specific risk factors. In individuals that have higher levels of risk for liver cancer, they’ll likely be screened more often.
Cancer screenings have two main objectives:
The screenings help to achieve these goals by detecting cancer as soon as possible. Early detection is one of the most significant factors in the successful treatment of cancer. This approach helps to find cancer when it is smaller, before it has spread, and potentially before it causes significant adverse effects to the body.
Early detection gives your cancer treatment a broader range of treatment options. When oncologists can treat cancer with less invasive options, at an earlier stage, patients have a shorter recovery time with a higher chance of complete removal of the cancer cells.
If you believe that you may be at a higher risk of liver cancer, talk to your primary care doctor about receiving liver cancer screening. Screening tests with abnormal results will require further testing to make an official diagnosis of liver cancer. Running diagnostic tests and evaluating the results is the first step in determining the need for a liver cancer treatment plan.