On January 21, 2019, as a guest on the "Yaşamaq Gözəldir" program on ARB channel, I spoke about liver diseases. One of the main questions that interests many people is this: does fatty liver disease lead to cancer? Although not every fatty liver leads to cancer, this risk exists under certain conditions.
The role of genetic predisposition
Genetic factors play a major role in the progression of fatty liver disease into a malignant tumor. If a person has a genetic predisposition to liver diseases, the process can develop through the following stages:
- First, fibrosis develops in the liver;
- Then the process progresses to cirrhosis;
- In the final stage, hepatocellular carcinoma, meaning a malignant tumor, may develop.
Cryptogenic cirrhosis
Sometimes, at the stage when a malignant tumor is detected in the liver, cholesterol and triglyceride levels are normal. In such cases, the disease is called cryptogenic cirrhosis, meaning cirrhosis of unknown origin. At the root of such cirrhosis of unknown cause and primary liver tumors are people with a hereditary predisposition to liver disease. For this reason, individuals with fatty liver disease must undergo elastography for preventive purposes.