What are the symptoms of advanced liver cancer? These are the common symptoms of advanced liver cancer

Patients with pre-liver cancer do not have obvious symptoms or pain. If the following symptoms occur, you should pay special attention to your liver health.

Lump

Many people will find some lumps on their bodies for no apparent reason. At first, they often ignore them and do not pay attention to them. However, as time goes by, they will find that these lumps are getting bigger and bigger. Then when they go to the hospital for a check-up, they find that these are early symptoms of liver cancer. Here we would like to remind everyone that if abnormal lumps appear in the armpits, abdomen, waist and other parts of the body, they need to be checked in time.

Weight loss

One of the early symptoms of liver cancer is abnormal weight loss. This means that if your weight decreases by more than 10% without any special diet or a lot of exercise, you should pay attention to whether there is a liver problem.

Abdominal swelling

When liver function is impaired, fluid will accumulate in the body, leading to a condition similar to abdominal swelling, especially on the right side of the stomach. This is actually compression of the liver blood vessels, causing the accumulated water to seep into the surrounding tissues and veins.

jaundice

Yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc. is one of the visible signs of liver damage and liver cancer. It may also be accompanied by itchy skin. This is usually due to bile duct obstruction and the inability of the liver to function normally.

Other early signs of liver cancer include: loss of appetite (lasting for more than a few weeks), easy illness, edema after meals (even when eating little), itchy skin, sudden chronic hepatitis, high temperature and night sweats, etc. The British Cancer Center pointed out that if the symptoms of jaundice are obvious, and coughing up blood and abdominal swelling occur at the same time, it is likely to be a warning sign of liver problems, and it is advisable to see a professional doctor as soon as possible.

So what are the symptoms of mid-to-late stage liver cancer? How do you know if you have reached the mid-to-late stage of liver cancer? The following symptoms are typical of mid-to-late stage liver cancer:

Symptoms of advanced liver cancer: 1. Weight loss and fatigue

The symptoms of liver cancer in the late stage are more obvious, and weight loss and fatigue are one of them. The liver is an important digestive gland and nutrient metabolism organ of the human body. Decreased liver function often leads to metabolic disorders of nutrients, toxins, etc. Liver cancer patients often feel more fatigued than other tumor patients, which is similar to patients with chronic hepatitis. The cause of fatigue is unknown. It may be due to digestive dysfunction and nutrient absorption disorders leading to insufficient energy, or liver cell damage and decreased liver function, resulting in metabolic disorders and certain toxins cannot be inactivated in time, or due to the necrosis of liver cancer tissue and the release of toxic substances. Weight loss is also a common symptom of liver cancer patients, which is due to damaged liver function. It is caused by decreased digestion and absorption function. As the disease progresses, the degree of weight loss may worsen, and cachexia may occur in severe cases.

Symptoms of advanced liver cancer 2. Pain in the liver area

Pain in the liver area is a common symptom of advanced liver cancer, with an incidence rate of over 50%. In the late stage of liver cancer, various symptoms will occur. Depending on the location of the liver cancer lesions, the nature and characteristics of the pain in the liver area are also different. Pain in the liver area is generally located in the right rib or under the xiphoid process. The pain is mainly intermittent or continuous dull pain, and may also be dull or stabbing. Some time before the pain, the patient may feel discomfort in the right upper abdomen. The main cause of the pain is the rapid enlargement of the tumor, which compresses the liver capsule and produces pulling pain. It can also be caused by the necrosis of the tumor irritating the liver capsule.

Symptoms of advanced liver cancer: Digestive tract symptoms

Symptoms of advanced liver cancer include loss of appetite, upper abdominal fullness after meals, belching, indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, etc., among which loss of appetite and abdominal distension are the most common. Similar and obvious manifestations can also occur in the advanced stage of liver cancer. Diarrhea is also a common digestive tract symptom of liver cancer. It has been reported both at home and abroad, with a high incidence rate, and 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.

Symptoms of advanced liver cancer 4. Symptoms of metastasis

Metastatic symptoms are common symptoms of advanced liver cancer and are also one of the causes of death. Liver cancer is a malignant tumor. When corresponding symptoms appear in the tumor metastasis site, they sometimes become the initial symptoms of liver cancer. Metastasis to the lungs can cause coughing and hemoptysis; pleural metastasis can cause chest pain and bloody pleural effusion; embolism of the pulmonary artery or branches can cause pulmonary infarction, which can cause sudden severe dyspnea and chest pain; blocking the inferior vena cava can cause severe edema of the lower limbs and even a drop in blood pressure; blocking the hepatic vein can cause Budd-Chiari syndrome.