Fatty liver?

loving_mother

Is a fatty liver in any way associated with liver mets or is it totally unrelated? I have not been able to find anything online regarding breast cancer and fatty liver

carcharm

I think it is unrelated. It can be caused by numerous things and is reversible. Idiopathic-unexplained reasons, obesity, alcohol consumption... just a few reasons. I speculate if chemo can induce a fatty liver.

LRM216

A fatty liver can occur even if you don't have any cancer whatsoever. There are many causes for it. I know if you have one, no alcohol, no tylenol or drugs that can hurt the liver, etc.  Hope this helps. 

Linda

LizM

I don't think that fatty liver is related to breast cancer except that maybe some of the treatrment we undergo for breast cancer, chemo and hormone therapy, etc can be hard on your liver and possibly lead to fatty liver.  It seems that most people think it is releated to obesity and not eating properly but I think  you can be thin and still have fatty liver possibly releated to medications or alcohol use.

bevin

HI, I have a fatty liver too. It was found before BC and I have always been thin, excercised and eat right.  Not sure what caused it in my case, Doctors are not too concerned and didnt advise any change in eating or supplements

YATCOMW

I've got the fatty liver also....

 

My oncologist said that he is surprised just how many breast cancer patients have one.......hmmmmm.

 

Jacqueline 

BaseballFan

Anyone out there with more insight to fatty liver?

CoolBreeze

Many chemotherapies cause fatty liver.  This is very different from mets and they are not linked nor are they related.  Depending on your scan, they might have a similar appearance.

Alcohol can cause fatty liver.  There is also idiopathic fatty liver, which has no cause.  

Mets are cancer cells invading the liver, not fat.  Fatty liver is medically called steatosis, so if you want to learn more, google that word.

In a contrast CT, it is usually pretty easy to tell the difference between mets and fatty liver but that depends on location, etc.

Good luck. 

I'm not a doctor, just a person with liver mets. 

Sommer

Hi there, I am thin, low body fat, never drink alcohol, eat halfways right, exercise, yet during the mets search my liver turned out to be fatty too. Before chemo that is.
It may also be caused by a lack of proteins in your diet or diabetes.
Don't worry too much. Maybe it is just a genetic thing.

Paula1231

Fatty Liver Overview

Fatty liver disease is characterized by increased accumulation of fat, especially triglycerides, in the liver cells. It is normal for the liver to contain some fat and by itself, this causes no symptoms. In some patients, the excess fat can cause inflammation called steatohepatitis (steato=fat +hepar=liver +itis=inflammation), although there is no relationship between the amount of fat present and the potential for inflammation.

Steatohepatitis can lead to cirrhosis (fibrosis, scarring and hardening of the liver). There is also an association with liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma).

Fatty Liver Causes

Fatty liver can be classified as alcohol and nonalcohol related. Alcohol is a direct toxin to the liver and can cause inflammation. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic related steatohepatitis (NASH) are markedly different illnesses and there are many potential causes that are linked to fat accumulation in the liver.

Some of the causes of fatty liver include:

• Diet: Consumption of excess calories in the diet (the excess caloric intake overwhelms the liver's ability to metabolize fat in a normal fashion, which results in fat accumulation in the liver).
  
• Diseases: Fatty liver is also associated with type II diabetes, obesity, and high triglyceride levels in the blood, celiac disease, and Wilson's disease (abnormality of copper metabolism).
  
• Medical conditions: Rapid weight loss and malnutrition.
  
• Medications: Medications such as tamoxifen (Soltamox), amiodarone injection (Nestorone), amiodarone oral (Cordarone, Pacerone), and methotrexate (Rheumatrex Dose Pack, Trexall) are associated with NAFLD.

There is evidence to suggest the presence of an association between insulin resistance and the development of NAFLD. In this situation, although the body makes adequate insulin, the ability of cells to adequately use that insulin to metabolize glucose is abnormal. The relative excess of glucose is then stored as fat and can accumulate in the liver.