What are the symptoms of advanced liver cancer? Four principles should be followed in the treatment of advanced liver cancer

Liver cancer is one of the more common malignant tumors, which can easily pose a great threat to our lives. Once liver cancer develops to the late stage, what are the symptoms? This is also a question that patients are more concerned about. Let us introduce the symptoms and solutions of late-stage liver cancer.

Late symptoms of liver cancer

1. Digestive tract symptoms

Gastrointestinal symptoms are also common symptoms of liver cancer in the late stage, such as decreased appetite and upper abdominal fullness after meals. Belching, indigestion, nausea, etc. are common digestive tract symptoms of liver cancer, among which loss of appetite and abdominal distension are the most common. Diarrhea is also a common digestive tract 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 movements. Abdominal distension can also be caused by ascites. Gastrointestinal dysfunction can also lead to symptoms such as indigestion, warm breath, and nausea.

2. Pain in the liver area

The vast majority of patients with advanced liver cancer present with pain in the liver area 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. The pain is intermittent or persistent dull pain or stabbing pain. The patient may feel discomfort in the right upper abdomen for a period of time before the pain. The pain may be mild or severe or relieve itself in the short term. The main cause of the pain is the rapid enlargement of the tumor, which compresses the liver capsule and produces traction pain. It may also be caused by the necrosis 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, mostly due to rupture and bleeding of cancerous nodules on the surface of the liver. If accompanied by a drop in blood pressure and shock, and bloody fluid in the abdominal puncture, it means that the cancerous nodules are severely ruptured and bleeding. In this case, emergency rescue is required.

3. Abdominal distension

Abdominal distension in the late stage of liver cancer is often caused by ascites. Although ascites can be controlled and relieved through suction and perfusion, the ascites grows very fast in the late stage of liver cancer, and the amount of ascites that can be drained at one time is also limited. Therefore, the patient will feel very uncomfortable and unable to eat. On the one hand, this is due to the influence of abdominal distension, and on the other hand, the late stage of cancer directly affects appetite and mental state.

4. Fever

Patients with advanced liver cancer often have fever, and a considerable number of liver cancer patients will sweat and have fever. Most fevers are low to moderate, and a few patients may have high fevers, above 39°C, generally not accompanied by chills. The fever of liver cancer is mostly cancer fever. In addition, there are also symptoms of weight loss, fatigue, bleeding tendency, lower limb edema, acute abdomen, and related metastatic lesions.

What to do in late stage liver cancer?

1. Active antiviral treatment

More than 90% of liver cancer occurs on the basis of chronic hepatitis B or chronic hepatitis C. Oral antiviral drugs are fast-acting, have few side effects, and can often improve liver function in a relatively short period of time. At the same time, they can also slow down the development of liver cancer.

2. Active nutritional support

Patients with advanced liver cancer often have severe liver decompensation, and more than 80% have varying degrees of malnutrition. On the one hand, liver cancer patients suffer from insufficient intake and malabsorption due to ascites, abdominal distension, and decreased appetite - in layman's terms, they cannot eat or digest. At the same time, factors such as tumors and inflammation increase consumption, and repeated tests and examinations restrict the patient's food intake. These factors further aggravate the malnutrition of patients with advanced liver cancer. Therefore, it is of great significance to strengthen nutritional support for patients with advanced liver cancer.

3. Actively treat complications

In addition to severe pain caused by bone metastasis and tumor rupture and bleeding, the main complications of liver cancer are the same as those of cirrhosis: ascites, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy and infection. Through correct prevention and treatment methods, most complications can be controlled, thus relieving most of the pain of advanced liver cancer. In addition to prolonging survival, it can also improve the quality of life and increase the patient's confidence in overcoming the disease. In terms of treating complications of liver cancer, the efficacy of combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine is far better than that of Western medicine alone.

4. Positive adjustment of mentality

Patients with advanced liver cancer face severe mental stress, which leads to a pessimistic and desperate mentality. Due to the mental depression of patients, mental symptoms such as insomnia and irritability may occur on the one hand, and physical symptoms such as abdominal distension, loss of appetite and pain may be aggravated on the other hand. Mental stress can reduce immunity and promote faster tumor growth. At present, various psychological intervention methods such as meditation are applied to the treatment of tumors abroad, which have been proven to have good effects. Clinical practice tells us that about one-third of liver cancer patients are "scared to death", so it is very important to provide psychological counseling for liver cancer patients.