Discuss Major Risk Factors That Independently Increase the Risk of Hepatocellular

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The Answer is Hepatocellular carcinoma is initiated and promoted by sustained recursive damage to hepatocytes due to infection by oncogenic liver viruses, chronic exposure to aflatoxins, chronic alcohol abuse, or a combination of these factors.
Two liver viruses, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), account for 75% of the new cases of liver cancer worldwide and 85% of cases in developing countries. The relative risk of developing liver cancer is increased by more than 20-fold for those chronically infected with either HBV or HCV compared to non-infected individuals and more than 100-fold for those infected by both viruses.
Heavy chronic alcohol consumption (greater than 80 grams daily for more than a decade) is estimated to increase the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma by more than 5-fold, and if severe alcoholic liver cirrhosis develops, the risk approaches 1% per year. Alcohol abuse is the primary risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in populations of many developed nations such as the USA. Furthermore, chronic alcohol abuse in combination with chronic hepatitis synergistically increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by certain species of the fungus Aspergillus. When conditions of high humidity and heat prevail, these fungi readily colonize and contaminate grain before harvest and during storage. Chronic exposure to aflatoxins independently increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma by 6-fold. Furthermore, aflatoxin exposure in combination with chronic hepatitis B or C has been found to synergistically increase hepatocarcinogenesis. It is estimated that chronic exposure to aflatoxins plus concomitant liver infection by HBV increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma by up to 60-fold.
Acute and chronic hepatic HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyrias" \o "Porphyrias" porphyrias are inherited genetic disorders in heme biosynthesis that predispose to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Other risk factors include cigarette smoking, obesity, and certain comorbid conditions such as hemochromatosis (excess deposition of iron in the liver and other organs) and Wilson's disease (excess deposition of copper in the liver). Also, vinyl chloride, a compound used in the plastics industry, can cause a rare form of liver cancer called hepatic angiosarcoma that appears many years after exposure.

Discuss Major Risk Factors That Independently Increase the Risk of Hepatocellular

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