How to diagnose liver cancer brain metastasis

Brain metastasis of liver cancer is relatively rare compared to lung metastasis of liver cancer, but once metastasis occurs, the prognosis is very poor and treatment is difficult. So what are the symptoms of brain metastasis of liver cancer to indicate the occurrence of metastasis?

1. Headache : Brain metastasis of liver cancer can cause headaches, which are paroxysmal at first, more common in the morning and evening, and are mostly located in the forehead and temples. If the metastasis is in the posterior cranial fossa, it can cause headaches in the occipital region and radiate to the eye sockets. As the tumor grows, the headache gradually intensifies and lasts longer, and can develop into a persistent headache. However, it still intensifies paroxysmically, especially when coughing, sneezing, leaning over, or lowering the head, and occasionally localized skull tenderness may occur.

2. Vomiting : In addition to headaches, vomiting is also common. Vomiting often occurs when a severe headache occurs and before the headache. When vomiting is severe, the patient cannot eat and will vomit after eating, which can cause severe dehydration and malnutrition in the patient.

3. Abnormal physical function : Some patients may experience corresponding abnormal physical function caused by damage to the brain parenchyma. For example, brain metastasis compressing the optic nerve can cause diplopia or even blindness; invasion of the cerebellum can cause dizziness; compression of the basal ganglia can cause movement disorders of the limbs, such as hemiplegia.

4. Imaging examination manifestations : Brain metastasis is mainly confirmed by 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.