What are the symptoms of advanced primary liver cancer? Symptoms of advanced primary liver cancer

What are the symptoms of late-stage primary liver cancer? Liver cancer is a malignant tumor. There are generally no symptoms from the early stage to the middle and late stages. Once symptoms appear, it is usually in the middle and late stages. What are the symptoms of late-stage primary liver cancer?

The most common symptom of advanced liver cancer is pain in the liver area, followed by upper abdominal mass. Poor appetite, fatigue, weight loss, unexplained fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, right shoulder pain and some symptoms similar to complications of liver cirrhosis, such as black stools, vomiting blood, jaundice, etc. A small number of patients are hospitalized due to symptoms caused by liver cancer metastasis. Understanding the symptoms of advanced liver cancer, determining the treatment plan, and symptomatic treatment are of great significance to the cure of liver cancer.

Jaundice: It usually occurs in the late stage of liver cancer. It can be caused by liver cell damage, or by compression or invasion of the bile duct near the liver porta hepatis by the cancer mass, or by bile duct obstruction caused by the detachment of cancer tissue and blood clots.

Hepatomegaly: More than 90% of liver cancer patients have enlarged livers, which are progressive, hard, uneven, with nodules or lumps of varying sizes, blunt and irregular edges, and often with varying degrees of tenderness. When liver cancer protrudes under the right costal arch or xiphoid process, the upper abdomen may show local bulge or fullness. If the tumor is located on the diaphragmatic surface, the main manifestation is that the diaphragm is elevated and the lower edge of the liver may not be enlarged. Because the arteries of liver cancer are rich and tortuous, or because the huge tumor compresses the hepatic artery or abdominal aorta, the inner diameter of the artery suddenly narrows, and sometimes a blowing-like vascular murmur can be heard on the abdominal wall close to the tumor.

Symptoms of metastatic lesions: If metastasis occurs to the lungs, bones, chest cavity, etc., corresponding symptoms may occur. Chest cavity metastasis is more common on the right side, and there may be signs of pleural effusion. Bone or spinal metastasis may cause local tenderness or nerve compression symptoms, and intracranial metastatic cancer may have nerve localization signs.

Systemic manifestations of malignant tumors: Liver cancer patients have progressive weight loss, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, malnutrition and cachexia. A small number of liver disease patients may have special systemic manifestations, called paraneoplastic syndrome, with hypoglycemia and polycythemia being the most common, and other rare ones include hypercalcemia, hyperlipidemia, carcinoid, etc.

Signs of liver cirrhosis: Patients with liver cancer and portal hypertension may have splenomegaly, ascites, and venous collateral circulation. The ascites increases rapidly and is usually transudate. Bloody ascites is often caused by cancer invading the liver capsule or rupturing into the abdominal cavity, and occasionally by peritoneal metastasis.

Pain in the liver area: More than half of patients with advanced liver cancer experience pain in the liver area. The pain is at the location of the tumor, and is usually persistent or dull. Liver pain is caused by the rapid growth of the tumor, which pulls the liver capsule. If the lesion invades the diaphragm, the pain may involve the right shoulder. When the cancerous nodule ruptures, it may suddenly cause severe pain and symptoms and signs of peritonitis. If the amount of bleeding is large, it may cause syncope and shock.