Could pain in the liver area be caused by liver cancer?

The incidence of liver cancer is actually still very high in our daily life, so everyone must pay considerable attention to this disease. Patients with liver cancer will not only have obvious pain in the liver, but also have gastrointestinal symptoms, such as decreased appetite, indigestion, etc., and the body will also have fever, and the whole body will appear thinner.

Symptom 1: Pain in the liver area

The vast majority of patients with advanced liver cancer experience liver pain as the first symptom, with an incidence rate of over 50%. Pain in the liver area is generally located in the right rib or under the xiphoid process, and the pain is intermittent or continuous. Dull pain or stabbing pain, before the pain, the patient may feel discomfort in the right upper abdomen. The pain may be mild or severe or relieve on its own for a short period of time. The main cause of pain is the rapid enlargement of the tumor, which compresses the liver capsule and produces pulling pain. It can also be caused by necrotic products of the tumor irritating the liver capsule.

A small number of patients experience severe pain in the liver area spontaneously or suddenly after liver puncture, which is mostly caused by rupture and bleeding of cancerous nodules located on the surface of the liver. If accompanied by a drop in blood pressure, signs of shock, and the presence of bloody fluid during abdominal puncture, it means that the cancerous nodule is ruptured and bleeding severely. In this situation, emergency rescue is required. If there are no associated symptoms and the pain is localized, it indicates that the bleeding is located under the liver capsule. The pain may vary depending on the location of the tumor. Tumors located in the left lobe often cause pain in the upper and middle abdomen; tumors located in the right lobe cause pain in the right hypochondrium; when the tumor involves the diaphragm, the pain radiates to the right shoulder or right back, which can easily be mistaken for shoulder arthritis; when the tumor is located in the posterior segment of the right lobe, it can sometimes cause low back pain; those with tumors located deep in the liver parenchyma generally rarely feel pain.

Symptom 2: Digestive tract symptoms

According to incomplete statistics, about 37% of liver disease patients mistakenly think they have "stomach disease" in the early stages of the disease, which leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Decreased appetite and upper abdominal fullness after meals. Belching, indigestion, nausea, etc. are common gastrointestinal symptoms of liver cancer, among which loss of appetite and abdominal distension are the most common. Diarrhea is also a common gastrointestinal symptom of liver cancer. It has been reported both at home and abroad. The incidence rate is high and it is easily mistaken for chronic enteritis. Portal hypertension and intestinal dysfunction caused by portal vein or hepatic vein cancer thrombus can cause abdominal distension and increased bowel movement. Abdominal distension can also be caused by ascites. Gastrointestinal dysfunction can also lead to symptoms such as indigestion, belching, and nausea.

Symptom 3: Fever

A considerable number of liver cancer patients will experience sweating and fever. Most fevers are low to moderate, and a few patients may have high fever, above 39°C, generally not accompanied by chills. The fever caused by liver cancer is mostly cancer fever, which is caused by the release of pyrogens into the blood circulation after tumor tissue necrosis. Cancer patients are prone to infection and fever due to their low resistance. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish them from the cancerous fever of liver cancer. It is necessary to combine blood test results and observe whether antibacterial treatment is effective to make a judgment.

Symptom 4: Weight loss and fatigue

Liver cancer patients often feel more fatigued than patients with other tumors, which is similar to patients with chronic hepatitis. The cause of fatigue is unknown. It may be due to digestive disorders, nutrient absorption disorders leading to insufficient energy, or liver cell damage and decreased liver function, resulting in metabolic disorders and failure to inactivate certain toxins in time, or the release of toxic substances due to necrosis of liver cancer tissue. Weight loss is also a common symptom in patients with liver cancer, which is due to damaged liver function. Due to decreased digestion and absorption function. As the disease progresses, the degree of weight loss may worsen, and cachexia may occur in severe cases.