Hepatitis C is a communicable disease that is caused by the hepatitis C virus. The infection affects the liver and is passed through the blood and other body fluids. It can also spread by sharing needles or having sexual contact with the infected person. The mothers who get infected during pregnancy can pass on the virus to their child.

Symptoms of Hepatitis C

The patients having this disease may or may not show outward symptoms, but their liver gets infected. Some people, however, might show mild to severe symptoms. The common symptoms include mild fever, loss of appetite, headache, fatigue, muscle ache, diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Later on, the patient can have some more symptoms like change in the color of the urine, stools can become clay colored, and there can be abdominal pain. There can also be yellowing of the skin and eyes. In the long term, the liver gets scarred, causing cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Such patients are very prone to some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Thankfully liver cancer is a rare occurrence in children. It can be divided into two subgroups: hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. The cases of hepatoblastoma have increased over the years, but the cause of the increase is not yet known. There are various ways of detecting the cancer. The size and the intensity of hepatoblastoma can be abated by chemotherapy.

A doctor determines the intensity and size of the tumor determines the chemotherapy drugs given to a patient who has to undergo chemotherapy for liver. A doctor usually needs to find out if a patient can be cured only by chemotherapy. If a patient has to undergo resection, then he or she can be given chemotherapy before the operation so that the size of the hepatoblastoma becomes less. An additional course of chemotherapy can also be given to patients after the resection, if any residual tumor is detected in patients.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chemotherapy is also given to patients who have hepatocellular carcinoma. This type of tumor is significantly caused by Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Although it is not a very common type of cancer in the US, it is quite common in some other parts of the world, and more than one million cases are reported every year. This tumor is more common in adults that children. The treatment involves liver transplantation, and tumor resection. These are done along with cisplatin-based chemotherapy . Your oncologist decides the chemotherapy schedule, number of chemotherapy cycles and the drug dosage for the treatment.

Drugs Commonly Used in Hepatitis C Chemotherapy

There are many drugs used to treat hepatitis C. Some of them include PEG Interferon, ribavirin, and a combination antiviral therapy consisting of both these drugs. There are however, many restrictions for patients. The antiviral medicines are not prescribed to patients who:

• Consume alcohol or IV drugs.
• Have advance cirrhosis.
• Suffer from depression or other such problems, as it can aggravate the symptoms.
• Expecting a baby. Women are asked to use birth control during and sometime after the treatment.
• Have an autoimmune disease, like: rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus.

Side Effects of Hepatitis C Treatment

A patient undergoing hepatitis treatment can have various side effects. The patient and the family members of the patient must be alert to these side effects and must immediately report to the doctor treating the patient. A common side effect is anemia.

• Anemia: Researchers say that about 22 % of patients undergoing hepatitis C chemotherapy treatment and other treatments become anemic. This is owing to the fact that the red blood cells are destroyed during the treatment. The symptoms include excessive fatigue, inability to stand physical activity, breathing problems, pale skin, feeling chilly in pleasant weather and dizziness.
• Suicidal Thoughts: A patient might also develop suicidal thoughts and depression. It is very helpful for patients to keep in touch with support groups or a counselor. A patient can also become aggressive or psychotic during the treatment. You must contact your physician immediately if you notice any such symptom.
• Neutropenia: In this condition, the level of white blood cells falls down significantly. As the white blood cells are responsible for protecting our body from various infections, a decrease in their count means that a patient is prone to infections.
• Other Side effects: Some drugs like ribarivin may cause apnea, severe pain and in some cases, gastrointestinal bleeding. The patient must keep a tract of the symptoms and contact the doctor immediately.

Research shows that liver cancer ranks seventh in the list of most common cancers in the world, and fourth in terms mortality; the closest being lung, colon and stomach cancers. Scientists believe that about 60 to 80 % of hepatitis C patients have liver cancer. Although there is a lot of research going on hepatitis C chemotherapy, the main challenge still remains for the doctors and the public at large is that this disease does not show any symptoms for many years.