According to the American Cancer Society, scientists have found several risk factors that make a person more likely to get liver cancer. But having a risk factor, or even several, does not mean that a person will develop cancer.
- Gender
- Certain types of liver disease *
- Cirrhosis (suh-row-sis)
- Tobacco use
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Aflatoxins
- Vinyl chloride and thorium dioxide (Thorotrast)
- Anabolic steroids
- Arsenic *
- Birth control pills: Birth control pills may slightly increase the risk of liver cancer. Most of the studies linking birth control pills and cancer involve types of pills that are no longer used. Birth control pills are now made differently and it is not known if they increase liver cancer risk.
Follow the link below for details about each of these risk factors.
* Worldwide, the biggest risk factor is infection with hepatitis B or C virus.
** [Editor's Note: Pressure treated wood is treated with arsenic. You can identify it by a greenish cast to the wood.]
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