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.

A few months later, in March 2025, he learned he had nodules in his lungs.
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:

Fatigue;
abdominal pain localized to the right side of the abdomen;
unexplained weight loss;
jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes);
abdominal bloating;
loss of appetite;
nausea;
and itching. However
, in a video posted on her TikTok account in November 2023, Dr. Pauline Guillouche, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist, reminded viewers that symptoms suggestive of liver dysfunction “are not specific to liver cancer, but should prompt you to consult a doctor so that further investigations can be carried out.”

Liver cancer: what are the possible treatments?

On its website, the INCa lists the “four types of standard treatments” for liver cancer:

Partial surgical removal of the part of the liver containing the tumor;
liver transplantation;
tumor ablation, which aims to destroy the tumor locally using heat or cold, through the skin and therefore without opening the abdomen;
and chemotherapy, which aims to reduce the size of the tumor and slow the progression of the disease.
Liver cancer: key points to remember.
In 2023, nearly 11,660 new cases of liver cancer were recorded in France.
Alcohol, tobacco, hepatitis B and C, obesity and being overweight, hemochromatosis, fatty liver disease, and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors.
Liver cancer is asymptomatic in most cases, which often leads to late diagnosis.
Symptoms may appear and vary depending on the stage. These symptoms are not specific to liver cancer but should prompt a consultation for further examination.