Thierry Ardisson’s death from liver cancer was announced by his family on July 14th. What are the risk factors and symptoms of this disease? Here’s what you need to know.
“Thierry passed away as he lived. A courageous and free man.” These were the words Audrey Crespo-Mara, journalist and wife of Thierry Ardisson, used to describe her husband’s death, which occurred on July 14th at the age of 76. “He’d been ill for years. Years. There were changes, treatments. Until the day when there were no more possible treatments. The devastating blow came on Wednesday, when we understood it was a matter of days,” his longtime friend and colleague Laurent Baffie told Le Parisien.
In the documentary The Hidden Face of the Man in Black, written and directed by Audrey Crespo-Mara and broadcast on July 16 on TF1, Thierry Ardisson reveals that he has been suffering from liver cancer since 2012. The documentary’s film crew follows him to the Pitié Salpétrière Hospital (APHP), in Paris, in December 2024, as he prepares to undergo radiotherapy.
What are the risk factors for liver cancer?
Liver cancer “is among the cancers with a poor prognosis,” according to the French League Against Cancer. 11,660 new cases were recorded in France in 2023, and 76% of them involved men. It should be noted that this disease most often occurs in a liver already weakened by alcoholic cirrhosis or viral hepatitis.
Alcohol is the leading risk factor for liver cancer, accounting for 48% of new cases, according to the French National Cancer Institute (INCa). Tobacco use, hepatitis B and C, obesity and being overweight, hemochromatosis, fatty liver disease, and a sedentary lifestyle are also risk factors.
Here are some signs that may indicate liver cancer.
Liver cancer is often discovered during the monitoring of alcoholic cirrhosis or viral hepatitis. However, when it affects a healthy person, it is asymptomatic in most cases, which often leads to a delayed diagnosis. If it is a so-called “silent” cancer, symptoms may appear and vary depending on the stage, according to the Léon Bérard Cancer Center. These may include:
