What are the early symptoms of liver cancer? Here are six points

The onset of liver cancer is relatively hidden. There are generally no special symptoms in the early stages of liver cancer. When patients show obvious symptoms of liver cancer, the disease is already in the middle or late stages. Liver cancer is a cancer disease that occurs in the liver. Liver cancer is a type of malignant tumor, second only to gastric cancer and esophageal cancer. What are the early symptoms of liver cancer?

Early symptoms of liver cancer 1. Special precautions for early liver cancer

Daily self-examination is very important. Early detection and early treatment are the principles of liver cancer treatment. If you often feel very tired on weekdays, and you cannot get relief even when you lie down to rest, you should pay attention. This may be a sign of liver disease. If the liver cancer tissue is larger, there will be a dull feeling in the pit of the stomach, or a dull pain in the upper right part of the abdomen. Even if it is not painful, there will be a sense of oppression and discomfort. The early symptoms of liver cancer often include symptoms caused by gastric disorders, including loss of appetite, nausea, fullness after eating, and stomach discomfort. If you lose weight during this period, or have a fever for no apparent reason, please go to the hospital for B-ultrasound, CT, X-ray hepatic angiography and other methods to confirm the diagnosis.

Early symptoms of liver cancer 2. Pain in the liver area

Most patients with advanced liver cancer present with pain in the liver area as the first symptom, with an incidence rate of more than 50%. Pain in the liver area is generally located in the right ribs or under the xiphoid process, and the pain is intermittent or persistent. It is dull or stabbing, and 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 pulling pain. It can 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, which is mostly caused by ruptured and bleeding cancerous nodules on the surface of the liver. If accompanied by a drop in blood pressure and shock, and bloody fluid is found in abdominal puncture, it means that the cancerous nodules are severely ruptured and bleeding. In this case, emergency rescue is required. If there are no associated symptoms and the pain is more limited, it means that the bleeding is under the liver capsule. The pain may vary depending on the location of the tumor. Tumors located in the left lobe often cause pain in the upper and middle abdomen; tumors located in the right lobe cause pain in the right hypochondrium; when the tumor involves the diaphragm, the pain radiates to the right shoulder or right back, which can be easily mistaken for shoulder arthritis; when the tumor is located in the posterior segment of the right lobe, it can sometimes cause low back pain; patients with tumors located deep in the liver parenchyma generally rarely feel pain.

Early symptoms of liver cancer 3. Weight loss and fatigue

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 disorders, nutritional absorption disorders leading to insufficient energy, or liver cell damage and decreased liver function, resulting in metabolic disorders, certain toxins cannot be inactivated in time, or due to the release of toxic substances due to liver cancer tissue necrosis. Weight loss is also a common symptom of liver cancer patients, which is caused by damaged liver function and decreased digestion and absorption function. As the disease progresses, the degree of weight loss may worsen, and cachexia may occur in severe cases.

Early symptoms of liver cancer 4. Bleeding tendency

Liver cancer patients often have bleeding gums, subcutaneous ecchymoses and other bleeding tendencies, which are mainly caused by impaired liver function and abnormal coagulation function. It is especially common in patients with liver cancer and cirrhosis. Gastrointestinal bleeding is more common, mainly due to portal hypertension leading to esophageal varices. In fact, gastrointestinal bleeding is also the main cause of death in liver cancer patients.

Early symptoms of liver cancer 5. Digestive tract symptoms

Decreased appetite and upper abdominal fullness after meals. Flatulence, indigestion, and nausea 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, which has been reported both at home and abroad. The incidence 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, flatulence, and nausea.

Early symptoms of liver cancer 6. Fever

A considerable number of liver cancer patients often have symptoms of fever in the early stage. Most of the fever is low to moderate, and a few patients have high fever above 39 degrees, usually accompanied by chills. The fever of liver cancer is mostly cancerous fever, because the tumor tissue releases pyrogens into the blood circulation after necrosis. Since the resistance of liver cancer patients is relatively low, it is easy to be infected and have fever. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish it from the cancerous fever of liver cancer. This needs to be combined with blood counts and observe whether the antibacterial treatment is effective before it can be judged.