4 main symptoms of fibrolamellar liver cancer

Fibrolamellar liver cancer is a special type of liver cancer, which is more common in children and adolescents, and the incidence is roughly the same in both sexes. The main complaints are often abdominal pain, fatigue, discomfort and weight loss. During physical examination, most patients can feel an abdominal mass, while jaundice is less common. These symptoms and signs appear about three months earlier than those of general liver cancer.

1. Abdominal pain

Persistent dull pain in the right upper abdominal liver area is an important symptom of fibrolamellar liver cancer and is also the most common symptom. It is caused by the rapid enlargement of the liver, which causes tension in the liver capsule or the invasion of the liver capsule and peritoneum by the tumor. It can be persistent dull pain or distending pain.

2. Weight loss

Cancer cells damage liver function and cause gastrointestinal dysfunction, which ultimately leads to nutritional absorption problems in patients. Coupled with the consumption of the tumor, the patient becomes noticeably emaciated and loses weight rapidly.

3. Abdominal mass

The mass is usually an enlarged liver, which is often progressively enlarged, hard, with an uneven surface, nodules or masses of varying sizes, causing local protrusions, blunt and irregular edges, and often tenderness.

4. Jaundice

Jaundice is usually mild or moderate at first (very obvious in some patients at the time of initial diagnosis), and gradually worsens as the disease progresses. Jaundice can be hepatocellular jaundice, obstructive jaundice, or both.