BATON ROUGE — The most common form of primary liver cancer — cancer that starts in the liver — is called hepatocellular carcinoma. This type of cancer often develops in people with chronic liver diseases like hepatitis.

"It's due to a chronic inflammation that leads to liver damage, cirrhosis and eventually to cancer," Mayo Clinic oncologist Lionel Kankeu Fonkoua said.

Symptoms may include yellowing of the eyes and skin, stomach pain, and unexpected weight loss. Several promising treatments to manage the disease include targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

"Immunotherapy is kind of a novel type of cancer treatment that is designed to boost your immune system to attack the cancer,” Fonkoua said.

Eating a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, limiting alcohol consumption and getting vaccinated against hepatitis B can reduce your risk of liver cancer.

"The hope is that we can trigger a tumor-specific immune response for every patient,” Fonkoua said.