What are the common symptoms of liver cancer? Liver cancer patients will have 5 symptoms

The symptoms of liver cancer patients will vary at different stages. Many patients are already in the middle or late stages when liver cancer is discovered. This shows the severity of the disease and the difficulty of treatment has increased a lot. People should have a good understanding of the common symptoms of liver cancer. Once they appear, they should be checked in time to avoid the disease entering the late stage, which means the end of life.

Common liver cancer symptoms are summarized below:

1. Pain in the liver area

The most common symptom is intermittent, continuous, dull or distending pain, caused by the rapid growth of the cancer, which tightens the liver capsule. The tumor invades the diaphragm, and the pain may radiate to the right shoulder or right back. It may cause right waist pain in the lower right direction. Sudden severe abdominal pain and peritoneal irritation signs indicate bleeding under the capsule of the cancerous nodule or rupture into the abdominal cavity.

2. Digestive tract symptoms

Loss of appetite, indigestion, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are easily overlooked due to their lack of specificity.

3. Fatigue, weight loss, and general weakness. A small number of patients with advanced liver cancer may develop a cachexia state.

4. Fever

Patients with liver cancer usually have a low fever, occasionally reaching above 39°C, with low fever in the afternoon or remittent high fever. Fever is related to the absorption of necrotic products of the tumor. Compression or invasion of the bile duct by the tumor may lead to bile duct infection.

5. Symptoms of metastatic disease

Symptoms at the site of tumor metastasis sometimes become the first symptoms of liver cancer. For example, metastasis to the lungs can cause coughing and hemoptysis, and metastasis to the pleura can cause chest pain and bloody pleural effusion. Embolism of the pulmonary artery or its branches can cause pulmonary infarction, which can cause sudden severe dyspnea and chest pain. Blockage of the inferior vena cava by tumor thrombus can cause severe edema of the lower limbs and even a drop in blood pressure; blockage of the hepatic vein can cause Budd-Chiari syndrome and edema of the lower limbs. Metastasis to the bones can cause local pain or pathological fractures. Metastasis to the spine or compression of the spinal nerves can cause local pain and paraplegia. Intracranial metastasis can cause corresponding localization symptoms and signs, and intracranial hypertension can also lead to brain herniation and sudden death.

The symptoms of liver cancer are very obvious, so patients must be vigilant in the early stages and not confuse them with other diseases or take them lightly. This may delay the treatment of the disease and affect their lives. Once patients find the above-mentioned discomfort symptoms, they should go to a regular cancer hospital for examination.