Liver Cancer Symptoms

Liver Cancer Symptoms

Liver cancer symptoms are usually very faint in the early stages and commonly go unnoticed until the condition becomes more severe.  This is especially true in developing countries where patients have  insufficient health care and screening examinations to get diagnosed properly.  Nevertheless, understanding liver cancer symptoms in their early stages could decrease the risks of having the condition worsen to the point that it becomes too difficult to cure.

Patients in developing countries rarely notice their liver cancer symptoms at an early stage due to two main reasons; first, because they have little means of getting regular physical checkups, and second because they are usually not well-informed about the liver cancer. So even if they notice the initial symptoms, they tend to ignore it – thinking that those symptoms will not pose much danger to their health and can be eliminated just by resting or getting enough sleep.

Liver cancer symptoms should not be mistaken for symptoms of liver cirrhosis.  Note, however, that a person who suffers from liver cirrhosis can experience similar symptoms, and, in some cases, can develop liver cancer through time if the condition is not attended to immediately. If a person who has liver cirrhosis starts to become unhealthier at a rapid rate, then checking for the symptoms of liver cancer should be done immediately.

Among the first signs of liver cancer in people who have cirrhosis are jaundice, ascites, and muscle deterioration.  Jaundice is among the most common liver cancer symptoms because it is visually noticeable—it is the discoloration (yellowing) of the skin.  On the other hand, ascites cannot be observed immediately if not checked for, since the serous fluids in the abdomen and its swelling are usually not seen right away.  Muscle deterioration can be mistaken for fatigue or being weak, but can be distinguished if a person has not yet engaged in any physical activity.

Liver cancer symptoms can be observed during a physical examination through tenderness or enlargement of the liver.  The doctor can also check for the turbulence of blood flow through the hepatic artery (the artery that delivers the blood to the liver) with the use of a stethoscope.  The turbulence can be heard using this device, and it is most common in people who have liver disorders. This sound is referred to as the hepatic bruit, which is caused by amplified blood flow to the liver.

Although it is rare, people can immediately experience jaundice due to the wearing of the bile duct caused by a liver tumor.   The blocking of the bile duct caused by the increased blood flow can also induce jaundice.

The portal vein, the vein which connects the liver to the spleen and the intestine, can also be blocked if a person has liver cancer.  The blocking of this particular vein will cause the blood to flow in other veins, like the veins of the esophagus.  This poses danger to the person, because with too much blood flow in an inappropriate place, the swollen esophageal veins (varices) could rupture and bleed into the gastrointestinal tract.  In addition, the tumor itself can break and cause a person to have blood in the abdomen.

When liver cancer symptoms reach an advanced stage, they can have more pronounced manifestations.  For instance, if the cancer gets to the blood vessels and other adjacent tissues, it can block passages and prevent the normal functioning of the different systems in the body.  The blocked hepatic veins can make organs congested, and in turn prevent them from draining the blood out of the liver properly.

There are rare instances when people who have this kind of cancer also experience the spreading of the tumor to the brain, the bones, or the lungs.  In any case, these liver cancer symptoms should be dealt with accordingly to minimize the probability of death.