What are the clinical symptoms of advanced liver cancer? 6 clinical symptoms of advanced liver cancer

1. Jaundice: Jaundice is a common symptom of liver cancer. It usually occurs in the late stage of liver cancer. It may be caused by liver cell damage, or by compression or invasion of the bile duct near the liver portal by cancerous masses, or by bile duct obstruction caused by the detachment of cancerous tissue and blood clots.

2. Systemic manifestations of malignant tumors: Liver cancer patients have progressive weight loss, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, malnutrition and cachexia. A small number of liver disease patients may have special systemic manifestations, called paraneoplastic syndrome, with hypoglycemia and polycythemia being the most common, and other rare ones include hypercalcemia, hyperlipidemia, carcinoid, etc.

3. Hepatomegaly: More than 90% of liver cancer patients have enlarged livers, which are progressive, hard, uneven, 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 the elevation of the diaphragm 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.

4. Signs of cirrhosis: Patients with liver cancer and portal hypertension may have splenomegaly, ascites, and venous collateral circulation. The ascites increases rapidly and is usually transudate. Bloody ascites is often caused by cancer invading the liver capsule or rupturing into the abdominal cavity, and occasionally by peritoneal metastasis.

5. Symptoms of metastatic lesions: If metastasis occurs to the lungs, bones, chest cavity, etc., corresponding symptoms may occur. Chest cavity metastasis is more common on the right side, and there may be signs of pleural effusion. Bone or spinal metastasis may cause local tenderness or nerve compression symptoms, and intracranial metastatic cancer may have nerve localization signs.

6. Pain in the liver area: More than half of patients with advanced liver cancer experience pain in the liver area. The pain is equivalent to the location of the tumor, and is often persistent or dull. Liver pain is caused by the rapid growth of the tumor, which pulls the liver capsule. If the lesion invades the diaphragm, the pain may involve the right shoulder. When the cancerous nodule ruptures, it may suddenly cause severe pain and symptoms and signs of peritonitis. If the amount of bleeding is large, it may cause syncope and shock.