Best Liver Cancer Doctors in Dallas: Liver Cancer

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At MTV IR, we enjoy a reputation of providing some of the best liver cancer treatments in Dallas and offering the most advanced liver cancer treatment options in North Texas. As a result, our patients, members of the general public, and even journalists tend to ask us the same questions over and over: "What CAUSES liver cancer? Is it hereditary? Do MY genes put me at risk for liver cancer?"
We can't give these people – or you, dear reader – definitive answers to these questions. Science has not yet isolated a specific cause for liver cancer. The best we can do is pinpoint risk factors that affect your chances of developing cancer of the liver. These risk factors – if you have them – do not mean that you will get the disease, only that you may be at somewhat increased risk of getting it.

Some liver cancer risk factors have no known genetic component

For example, smoking is known to increase one's likelihood of getting liver cancer. But there is no known genetic link suggesting that if your parents smoked, you will, too. Similarly, there is strong evidence that chronic viral hepatitis increases your liver cancer risk, but this form of hepatitis is not hereditary, so there can't be a genetic link there.

Some risk factors for liver cancer have at best a weak genetic component

It is known that members of certain races or ethnic groups – such as Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians – have a somewhat higher risk of getting liver cancer. But we don't know what causes that increased rate. It is also very well known that the presence of obesity and alcoholism increase one's risk of liver cancer, but neither of these conditions are directly hereditary. There may be issues of "cultural heredity" at work if you grow up in a household of overeaters or compulsive drinkers, but neither trait is hereditary per se.

Other liver cancer risk factors have a much stronger genetic component

One of the strongest risk factors for liver cancer is cirrhosis, a condition in which liver cells become damaged and are replaced with scar tissue. And while there are non-hereditary causes of cirrhosis such as alcoholism or infection, there ARE some causes of cirrhosis that can be passed down from generation to generation. There are also hereditary metabolic diseases that can lead to cirrhosis, and thus liver cancer. These include Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency, hereditary hemochromatosis, Glycogen storage diseases, Porphyria cutanea tarda, Tyrosinemia, and Wilson disease. Type 2 diabetes has also been linked to increased liver cancer risk, and diabetes can certainly be inherited.

The "bottom line" is that we still don't know for sure what causes liver cancer

As some of the best liver cancer doctors in Dallas, we'd LOVE to be able to tell you, "Eating food X or drinking beverage Y or having inherited gene Z increases your risk of liver cancer." But it doesn't work that way – some people who have many of the risk factors we've discussed here never get liver cancer, and some people who have none of them get it. So at this point the best way we can help you prevent liver cancer is to suggest that you see your primary doctors often for checkups, and see specialists such as the doctors at MTV IR if any signs of liver cancer are found.

If you want to know more about liver cancer and the interventional radiology (IR) treatments we use to fight it, spend some time reading the articles on our website at http://www.mtvir.com/ or give us a call directly at (469) 331-5943. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Author Bio: Some of the Best Liver Cancer Doctors In Dallas discuss the known risk factors for liver cancer, and whether your genetic background is one of them.

For more details: http://www.mtvir.com