How to diagnose distant metastasis of liver cancer? Introducing several diagnostic methods for liver cancer metastasis

Liver cancer is prone to metastasis in the middle and late stages. Common metastatic sites include the lungs and bones. Rarely, brain metastasis occurs. How do we diagnose distant metastasis of liver cancer?

1. Lung metastasis

Liver cancer can easily metastasize to the lungs. Most lung metastases of liver cancer can be detected through chest X-ray (chest film). The typical manifestation is a high-density round shadow in the peripheral part of the lung. The characteristics of lung metastasis are that the lung nodules have a higher density and clear boundaries. They are mostly distributed around the lungs, more common in the lower lung, and a small number of lung metastasis nodules may also appear in the upper lung and hilum.

Sometimes, lung metastases are behind the heart, in which case a lateral chest X-ray is needed to detect metastases in that area.

Atypical liver cancer lung metastasis requires diagnosis using chest CT which is more sensitive than chest X-ray. Lung CT scan can detect metastatic lesions of several millimeters.

2. Bone metastasis

Bones are also common organs for liver cancer metastasis. Bone metastasis of liver cancer is usually detected by isotope bone scanning, which can sensitively detect isotope concentration in the corresponding area. However, isotope scanning can also have false positives. If there is a history of fracture or inflammation of the bones, the area will also show isotope concentration.

Magnetic resonance imaging is very accurate in diagnosing bone metastasis and can detect bone destruction and the degree of invasion of surrounding tissues. It can be examined according to the needs of the disease.

3. Brain metastasis

Brain metastasis of liver cancer is rare and is mainly diagnosed through CT and MRI. CT shows high-density space-occupying lesions in the brain parenchyma; MRI can show low signal on T1-weighted images and high signal on T2-weighted images. These characteristic changes can diagnose brain metastasis.