What are the hazards of ascites caused by liver cancer

Patients with mid- to late-stage liver cancer often have ascites, which generally indicates worsening liver cancer. Ascites in patients with liver cancer is mainly due to chronic liver damage that reduces albumin synthesis, decreased plasma colloidal osmotic pressure or portal hypertension that causes imbalance in water metabolism inside and outside cells, and water inside cells leaks out of cells to form ascites. If ascites is not treated effectively, the consequences will be very serious. So what are the hazards of ascites in liver cancer?

Systemic symptoms

If the ascites is severe, if the ascites grows rapidly or if there is a large amount of ascites, the patient will feel obvious abdominal distension and may experience symptoms such as difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fullness, and lower limb edema. This is caused by compression of the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and intra-abdominal veins and lymphatic systems.

Renal impairment

When a large amount of ascites compresses the kidneys, the patient may also experience oliguria, decreased blood pressure, apathy, and drowsiness. This is a manifestation of impaired renal function, which cannot achieve overall regulation of the internal organs, and the disease further develops into hepatorenal syndrome, uremia, and renal failure. Once a patient develops these symptoms, the prognosis is extremely poor.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation

Due to blood concentration, slow blood flow and increased blood coagulation, it can promote the formation of DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), which mainly manifests itself in four aspects: bleeding, shock, embolism and hemolysis, and the mortality rate is extremely high.

In addition, there are also abdominal infections and other conditions, which are very fatal for liver cancer patients, and any one of them can lead to disappointment. Therefore, once ascites occurs, it is necessary to actively treat it, usually by giving albumin and draining ascites.