Are there many treatments for liver cancer in hospitals? Symptoms and treatments for liver cancer

What are the symptoms of liver cancer? Liver cancer is one of the more common cancers today, so you should know the symptoms of liver cancer in advance so that you can detect and treat it early. Here, we will take stock of the symptoms and treatment methods of liver cancer. Let's take a look.

Early symptoms of liver cancer

Digestive system symptoms. Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and diarrhea are mostly undigested food residues. In addition, digestive tract dysfunction, enlarged tumor compression and involvement of the stomach can lead to portal hypertension. Impaired liver function and decreased digestion and absorption function can cause patients to lose weight for unknown reasons, which is also a common symptom of liver cancer patients.

Hepatomegaly: About 90% of the above-mentioned liver cancer patients have enlarged livers, which are progressively enlarged, hard in texture, uneven in appearance, 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.

Systemic failure. The patient will experience severe fatigue and weight loss, as well as progressive anemia and edema.

Pain in the liver area. Clinically, the first symptom of liver cancer patients is mostly pain in the liver area, especially those with a history of hepatitis and cirrhosis. It is usually located in the right ribs or under the xiphoid process, and is usually intermittent or persistent dull pain, dull pain or stabbing pain. Early patients will feel discomfort in the right upper abdomen, and the pain may be mild or severe or relieve itself in the short term. Most of the pain is dull pain and distension due to the rapid growth of the tumor, which makes the liver capsule tense and swollen. If the pain is severe and stabbing, radiating to the back, right shoulder and waist, and acute abdomen suddenly occurs in the liver area, it may be a rupture of liver cancer.

Bleeding. Early manifestations of liver cancer often include nose bleeding and subcutaneous bleeding, which are mostly caused by liver tissue destruction and liver failure. Portal hypertension can cause esophageal and gastric varicose vein rupture and bleeding. Liver enlargement, spleen enlargement, fever: 90% of liver cancers have liver enlargement. The enlarged liver is often hard and irregular, and there may be nodules of varying sizes on the edge. Giant liver cancer can sometimes deform the liver, making it difficult to distinguish during palpation.

So, what are the methods to treat liver cancer?

Treatments for liver cancer

Radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is a treatment method for liver cancer that uses various rays of different energies to irradiate the tumor to inhibit and kill cancer cells. Radiotherapy can reduce the tumor mass, relieve symptoms, and prolong life for primary liver cancer. It is mainly suitable for cases with good general condition, normal liver function, and localized tumors that cannot be removed. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can cause many toxic and side effects such as decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, so traditional Chinese medicine is often used in combination with liver cancer treatment methods to improve the cure rate of cancer.

Liver transplantation. Liver transplantation is the only radical surgical method for treating mid- to late-stage liver cancer. It involves implanting a healthy liver into the patient’s body to restore liver function to normal levels. In short, after removing the patient’s diseased liver, the donor liver is implanted into the recipient’s (patient’s) original liver in accordance with the normal anatomical structure of the human body.

Chemotherapy. 95% of liver cancer patients have lost the opportunity for surgery when diagnosed, and most liver cancer patients still rely on chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is currently one of the main means of treating tumors and certain autoimmune diseases. It is a treatment method for liver cancer using chemical synthetic drugs. It can achieve certain therapeutic effects in inhibiting cancer cells, but it has certain toxic side effects, especially for patients with poor physical fitness, which will be more painful. The purpose of advanced liver cancer treatment is to improve the patient's quality of life and prolong life. It cannot be based solely on treating the disease. It is also necessary to take into account the patient's feelings and improvement of quality of life, and on this basis improve the treatment effect and prolong survival.

Radiofrequency ablation technology. Radiofrequency ablation technology is an advanced technology that integrates human and machine operation. It accurately locates the local cancerous cells and causes coagulative necrosis to block the spread of liver cancer cells. It is an interventional technology that causes little damage to other liver tissues and adjacent tissues. Therefore, it is more suitable for patients with small liver cancer and multiple liver cancers. The operation is less traumatic and the recovery is fast. After the operation, the patient strictly follows the doctor's instructions and observes for a period of time before being discharged from the hospital. This method reduces the pain of liver cancer patients and allows them to return to normal life in a short time.

The above treatment methods for liver cancer are for reference only.