What are the symptoms of mid- to late-stage liver cancer

The symptoms of cancer may not be obvious in the early stages, but they can be detected if you are careful. If cancer develops to the late stage, it will pose a great threat to the patient's health. In the late stage of liver cancer, the symptoms are obvious and painful.

1. Pain in the liver area

Pain in the liver area Most patients suffer from pain in the liver area, and the pain is very characteristic. This pain is equivalent to the location of the tumor. If the pain occurs in this location, patients will feel persistent distension and even dull pain. Liver pain is caused by the rapid growth of the tumor, which stretches the liver capsule.

2. Symptoms of peritonitis

If the lesion invades the diaphragm, the pain may involve the right shoulder. If a cancerous nodule ruptures, it may cause sudden severe pain and symptoms and signs of peritonitis. If the amount of bleeding is too heavy, it can cause fainting and shock. Hepatomegaly: More than 90% of patients have an enlarged liver that is progressive, hard, uneven, with nodules or lumps of varying sizes, blunt and irregular edges, and usually with varying degrees of tenderness. If the tumor is located on the diaphragmatic surface, the main manifestation is the elevation of the diaphragm while the lower edge of the liver may not be enlarged. Because the arteries of liver cancer are rich and tortuous, the huge tumor compresses the hepatic artery or abdominal aorta, causing the inner diameter of the artery to narrow suddenly. Sometimes a blowing-like blood murmur can be heard on the abdominal wall close to the tumor.

3. Jaundice

Jaundice usually appears in the late stage and may be caused by liver cell damage, because the cancer mass compresses or invades the bile duct near the liver portal, or the detachment of cancer tissue and blood clots causes bile duct obstruction. Patients with liver cancer who have signs of cirrhosis and portal hypertension may have splenomegaly, ascites, and the formation of venous collateral circulation.