Care of the postoperative patient with liver cancer in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Cancers of the liver are increasing throughout the world. Cirrhosis, hepatitis B and C, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and metastases from cancers of the colon and the breast are some of the largest contributors to liver cancers. Many patients with chronic liver disease develop cirrhosis and then primary liver cancer. Cirrhosis may lead to increased fibrous tissue development and destruction of native liver cells. The exhaustion of the regenerative ability of the liver may contribute to the formation of hepatocellular carcinomas. Diagnosis of liver cancer is most frequently found through computed tomography (CT) and a rise in alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. It may also be incidental to findings of another type of cancer, as in the metastatic form of cancer.