Liver cancer

What is liver cancer?

Liver cancer occurs when cells in the liver begin to grow and divide uncontrollably, forming a tumour. The liver is one of the body's most essential organs, filtering toxins, processing nutrients, producing proteins, regulating metabolism, and supporting hormone balance.

The most common type is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which arises from the main liver cells (hepatocytes) and accounts for the majority of primary liver cancers. A second type, cholangiocarcinoma, originates in the bile ducts within or around the liver and is less common but equally serious.

It is important to distinguish primary liver cancer, which starts in the liver itself, from secondary (metastatic) liver cancer, where cancer originating elsewhere in the body spreads to the liver. Both can be identified on imaging, and both are clinically significant findings.

Symptoms of liver cancer

Early liver cancer typically causes no symptoms, which is precisely why incidental detection through imaging is so important. When symptoms do appear, they usually indicate more advanced disease and may include:

• Persistent tiredness or low energy

• Loss of appetite or unexplained weight changes

• Feeling full quickly or bloated after small meals

• Pain or discomfort in the upper right abdomen

• Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)

• Dark urine or pale stools

• Nausea or general digestive discomfort

Less common or long-term signs may include:

• Itchy skin

• Swelling in the legs or abdomen

• Unexplained fevers or night sweats

These symptoms can overlap with many other liver or digestive issues. That’s why testing is so important, it brings clarity.

What causes liver cancer?

There’s rarely a single cause. Liver cancer usually develops over time, often linked to ongoing liver stress or inflammation.

Common causes and risk factors include:

• Chronic hepatitis B or C infection: long-term viral infection causes ongoing liver cell damage and inflammation, dramatically increasing HCC risk.

• Fatty liver disease: linked to poor diet, insulin resistance, or obesity.

• Metabolic stress: poor liver function from imbalanced cholesterol or elevated blood sugar.

• Cirrhosis: severe liver scarring from any cause — including alcohol, viral hepatitis, or metabolic liver disease — is the single strongest structural risk factor for HCC.

• Environmental factors: long-term exposure to certain toxins or aflatoxins in food.

• Haemochromatosis: this genetic condition causes iron overload in the liver, which over decades can lead to cirrhosis and HCC. Elfcare's blood panel includes iron studies (ferritin, transferrin saturation, iron) that can flag this condition early.

How is liver cancer detected?

Detection relies primarily on abdominal imaging, supported by blood tests that assess liver function and flag underlying damage.

Abdominal MRI: MRI of the abdomen is one of the most sensitive and specific tools available for liver cancer detection. It can directly visualise the liver parenchyma in detail, identifying:

• Suspicious masses or lesions consistent with HCC or other primary tumours

• Liver metastases — secondary tumours that have spread from cancer elsewhere in the body

• Structural changes associated with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis

• Iron overload (haemochromatosis) and fatty infiltration

• Changes to bile ducts that may suggest cholangiocarcinoma

Crucially, MRI can detect lesions at an early stage — before symptoms develop and while curative treatment options remain available. This is the most important tool Elfcare offers for liver cancer detection.

Blood tests: Blood tests cannot detect liver cancer directly, but they provide essential information about liver health and function and can flag the chronic damage that often precedes malignancy. Relevant markers in Elfcare's panel include:

• ALT and AST: liver enzymes that rise when liver cells are damaged or inflamed

• ALP (alkaline phosphatase): elevated in bile duct involvement or liver infiltration

• GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase): a sensitive marker of liver stress, alcohol-related damage, and bile flow disruption

• Bilirubin: reflects how well the liver is processing waste; elevated in jaundice and liver dysfunction

• Albumin: produced by the liver; low levels indicate impaired liver synthetic function

• Ferritin, transferrin saturation, and iron: screen for haemochromatosis, a significant liver cancer risk factor

• HbA1c and glucose: assess metabolic health and diabetes, which is linked to fatty liver disease and HCC risk

Why early detection matters

Liver cancer has one of the starkest contrasts between early and late-stage outcomes of any cancer. When detected at an early stage — as a small, localised lesion — surgical resection, ablation, or liver transplantation can be curative. When detected late, treatment options are significantly more limited.

Early detection also gives you time to take simple, positive steps like improving diet, moderating alcohol, managing stress, or following up with your doctor for further evaluation.

When you understand your liver’s condition early, you can maintain balance, protect long-term metabolic health, and keep your energy steady.

How Elfcare can help

Elfcare’s health checks combine advanced imaging and blood analysis to assess liver health and detect early changes.

Full body MRI — abdomen: includes detailed imaging of the abdomen, with the liver imaged directly. This can identify suspicious lesions, structural liver changes, signs of cirrhosis, and metastatic deposits, often before any symptoms are present. For liver cancer specifically, this is the most clinically meaningful part of the Elfcare health check.

Blood panel Our 80+ biomarker blood test includes a comprehensive liver function panel — ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, bilirubin, albumin — alongside iron studies and metabolic markers. Together, these assess the underlying liver health and metabolic risk factors that are most closely linked to liver cancer development.

Used together, the MRI and blood panel give a thorough picture of both the structural state of the liver and its functional health, helping you understand what’s happening inside your body early, so you can act with confidence and care.

If your abdominal MRI identifies a suspicious liver lesion or structural abnormality, your Elfcare doctor will discuss the finding in detail during your follow-up consultation. If blood results indicate significant liver dysfunction, elevated iron markers, or poorly controlled metabolic risk factors, you will receive the necessary medication through Elfcare or your preferred healthcare provider.