Why do people with normal liver function tests still get liver cancer? This article will help you understand

Mr. Wang is 50 years old this year. He works in the sales industry and naturally drinks a lot. He drinks half a catty of liquor a day, and as much as one catty. Getting drunk is a common occurrence. Mr. Wang's father died of liver cancer. He also knew that drinking alcohol hurts the liver, so Mr. Wang insisted on checking his liver function every year. Fortunately, it was normal every year. A few days ago, he felt uncomfortable in his stomach after getting drunk. He thought it was a hangover, but after a few days, his stomach hurt more and more, and he could vaguely feel a lump. Mr. Wang hurried to the hospital for a check-up. He was shocked to find that there was an 8-centimeter tumor on Mr. Wang's liver.

Mr. Wang was shocked when he learned the truth. His liver function had always been normal, so why did he get liver cancer? He thought the doctor had made a mistake, so he went to another hospital, and the test results still highly suspected liver cancer. In fact, liver cancer and liver function are not equal. Normal liver function tests cannot rule out liver cancer. So what does a liver function test check? Why do people with normal liver function still get liver cancer? Let's learn about it today.

What is a liver function test? Liver function tests are tests that detect various indicators related to liver function metabolism through various biochemical test methods to reflect the basic condition of liver function. Generally, the nurse will draw blood from you, and the various indicators in the blood can usually reflect the damage and severity of liver cells. When liver cells are damaged, liver function often increases to varying degrees. The most common ones include hepatitis, drug-induced liver damage, alcoholic liver damage, liver cancer, etc.

What are the types of liver function results? The liver is a very important organ in the human body. It has powerful functions. In addition to the well-known detoxification and metabolic functions, the liver is also involved in the body's secretion, immunity, and coagulation functions. This is why when you get the results of a liver function test, you will find a lot of densely packed values. Although there are many results, not every one of them is so meaningful. Generally speaking, the ones we most often use as references are transaminases that reflect liver cell necrosis (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)); bilirubins that reflect the level of liver detoxification function, and albumins and globulins that reflect liver immunity and inactivation functions.

If any of the above results are abnormal, liver damage should be highly suspected. However, what many people don’t know is that when all the results are normal, the occurrence of liver cancer cannot be ignored.

Why can't normal liver function rule out liver cancer? The liver is an organ with a very strong compensatory function, which is a double-edged sword for us. Because of its powerful function, its compensatory ability is amazing. Even if the liver only has 30%-40% of its function, it can often maintain the normal functioning of the human body. This is a good thing, but it has brought us trouble. Because the compensatory function is too strong, even if a malignant tumor appears in the liver, there is often no discomfort in its early stages, so the liver function can still appear normal. Only when cancer cells replicate widely and rob liver cells of most of their nutrients, there will be abnormal liver function. This is why some patients with liver cancer have normal liver function, while those with liver cancer are already in the late stage when abnormal liver function is discovered.

How to diagnose early liver cancer? Some people may say that since liver function is normal in the early stage of liver cancer, is it difficult to diagnose early liver cancer? In fact, the diagnosis of early liver cancer mainly relies on liver color Doppler ultrasound + alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Liver color Doppler ultrasound can accurately detect liver tumors with a diameter of about 1CM with the help of ultrasound technology. Compared with CT, color Doppler ultrasound has no radiation and is harmless to the human body. This is the biggest advantage of color Doppler ultrasound compared with CT. As a common tumor marker, people have found that alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is closely related to liver cancer. When AFP＞400, active hepatitis, teratoma, etc. are excluded, and liver cancer is highly suspected.

Who needs to pay attention to regular early screening for liver cancer? Generally speaking, when you are over 40 years old, it is recommended to conduct regular early screening for liver cancer, especially when you have the following conditions: 1. History of chronic hepatitis; 2. Non-alcoholic fatty liver hepatitis; 3. Long-term exposure to carcinogens such as aflatoxin; 4. Long-term drinking; 5. Family history of liver cancer and other risk factors; It is worth noting that for high-risk (cirrhosis) patients, it is recommended to perform liver color Doppler ultrasound + AFP testing every six months; for extremely high-risk (cirrhosis + hepatitis virus carriers), perform liver color Doppler ultrasound + AFP testing every three months, and perform enhanced CT/MRI testing every year.

Summary: Liver function is an important indicator of liver function. Normal liver function does not mean that you will not get liver cancer. Early screening of liver cancer requires liver color Doppler ultrasound + AFP examination.

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