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Liver cancer
Do early-stage liver cancer patients experience fatigue?
Patients with early-stage liver cancer generally do not exhibit symptoms of fatigue, which are more commonly seen in patients with mid to late-stage liver cancer. The clinical symptoms of early-stage liver cancer are generally not typical, with a minority of patients experiencing reduced appetite and discomfort or mild pain in the liver area. Furthermore, early-stage liver cancer is often discovered during physical examinations or incidentally. Fatigue in liver cancer patients is mostly due to hypoalbuminemia, moderate to severe anemia, or toxic side effects caused by certain anticancer treatments. Hypoalbuminemia occurs because the growth of liver cancer consumes a large amount of protein, and liver dysfunction leads to insufficient synthesis of both protein and glycogen, resulting in malnutrition in patients. After experiencing weight loss, patients often show signs of fatigue. The pathological changes in liver cancer can lead to moderate to severe anemia, which, in turn, significantly contributes to fatigue. Additionally, some medications used in treating liver cancer can cause fatigue due to their toxic side effects.
How to protect the liver in the late stages of liver cancer
If liver cancer has reached an advanced stage, this indicates that the patient's condition is very serious, and there is no possibility of cure. It is recommended that the patient take some Chinese herbal medicines for liver protection and maintenance. However, the patient must regulate their condition and control the development of the disease through medication under the guidance of a doctor, in order to prolong their life. However, the specific treatment plan should be determined based on the specific condition of each patient, following the guidance of the doctor for treatment.
Should the gallbladder be removed in the early stage of liver cancer?
Whether early-stage liver cancer patients need to have their gallbladder removed depends on the location of the tumor. For liver cancers located close to the gallbladder, gallbladder removal is generally necessary. For liver cancer lesions that are farther from the gallbladder, it is usually sufficient to only remove the liver tumor, or to perform a resection of the local liver segment or sub-segment. Additionally, for early-stage liver cancer patients to undergo surgery, certain conditions must be met: the tumor must be five centimeters or smaller, there should be no cancerous thrombus in the main trunk of the portal vein, the liver cancer tumor should not involve the semi-dry or full-dry circumstances, and the liver function should be compensatory. Under these conditions, an effort should be made to perform liver tumor resection. Generally, cancers located in the left lobe of the liver require local resection, either of a liver segment or sub-segment, and sometimes resection of the liver lobe may be performed. Tumors located in the right lobe of the liver or the hepatic portal area require local tumor resection.
Can alpha-fetoprotein diagnose liver cancer?
Alpha-fetoprotein, also known as AFP, reflects the function of the liver and whether there are any diseases present. The accuracy and specificity of alpha-fetoprotein in diagnosing liver cancer are relatively high. In non-pregnant individuals, whether male or female, an elevated alpha-fetoprotein level should raise suspicions of liver disease, and it is advisable to promptly undergo ultrasound or CT scans to determine the presence of liver cancer or other liver diseases. However, during pregnancy, as the fetus grows and develops, a certain amount of alpha-fetoprotein is released. Therefore, when testing the blood of pregnant women, an increase in alpha-fetoprotein is observed. This condition is a physiological change and does not indicate the occurrence of liver diseases such as liver cancer in women. Thus, alpha-fetoprotein can serve as an auxiliary method for diagnosing liver cancer, but only in non-pregnant individuals.
Is the right shoulder pain from liver cancer muscular pain?
Many cancer patients do not exhibit obvious symptoms after becoming ill. This is particularly true for many liver cancer patients who do not feel anything unusual after contracting the disease, leading to a lack of timely detection and treatment. By the time they are diagnosed, the disease has often already reached an advanced stage. At this advanced stage, treatment becomes quite difficult. If a patient experiences severe pain in the right shoulder, it generally indicates that the liver cancer has reached a late stage. The pain during this period has no specific characteristics; it is simply a sensation of pain.
Does early-stage liver cancer cause the complexion to become dark?
Patients with early-stage liver cancer do not experience darkening of the facial complexion. This is because early-stage liver cancer primarily refers to carcinoma in situ of the liver and some small liver cancers. Since the tumors are small and the affected area is limited, they generally cause few symptoms clinically. Some patients may experience mild fatigue and a decrease in appetite, but these do not lead to changes in the complexion. Only when the liver cancer progresses to the middle or late stages, causing damage to liver cell functions or when the pathology metastasizes, leading to damage to multiple organ functions, can there be some changes in facial complexion. For example, patients may exhibit pale complexions due to moderate to severe anemia. Some patients may have yellowing of the skin due to obstructive jaundice or hepatocellular jaundice. Additionally, some patients may show darkening of the facial complexion due to abnormal hormone secretion.
Is the alpha-fetoprotein high in the early stage of liver cancer?
Patients with liver cancer may not necessarily have elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in the early stages. CEA, a commonly used tumor marker, tends to increase in various types of malignancies. However, an elevation in CEA is not necessarily linked to the occurrence of malignant tumors. Many patients with early-stage tumors, including liver cancer, may not have elevated CEA levels at diagnosis. Conversely, elevated CEA levels in some patients may be due to benign conditions and not necessarily indicate malignancy. Therefore, it is unreasonable to determine the presence of liver cancer solely based on the elevation of CEA.
Symptoms of late-stage liver cancer deterioration
If liver cancer reaches an advanced stage, many symptoms will appear. For example, there will be pain in the liver area due to the tumor's growth pulling on the liver capsule, causing persistent swelling in the upper right part or stomach pain. If the tumor invades the pectoral muscles, it may cause referred pain in the right shoulder or back. Some patients may experience an enlarged liver due to the increased size of the tumor, which feels painful when pressed. Additionally, the increase and pressure from the tumor can obstruct bile excretion, leading to jaundice, and symptoms of cirrhosis may also appear. In general, the main symptoms of advanced liver cancer include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, and weight loss. If the condition worsens, metastatic symptoms may occur; lung metastasis can cause the patient to cough and expel phlegm, and bone metastasis can cause localized pain and lumps.
Does liver cancer cause nosebleeds in its early stages?
Patients with early-stage liver cancer generally do not exhibit clinical symptoms of nosebleeds. Nosebleeds are a clinical manifestation of late-stage liver cancer. Early-stage liver cancer patients usually have atypical symptoms, which may include tenderness in the liver area, decreased appetite, abdominal bloating, and symptoms of indigestion. As the disease progresses, the liver cancer invades surrounding tissues and metastasizes to distant sites, leading to liver function impairment and coagulation disorders, which can result in nosebleeds. Some patients may also develop splenic hyperfunction due to liver damage, leading to a decrease in platelets, which can also cause nosebleeds. Additionally, some patients in the late stages may develop disseminated intravascular coagulation, leading to spontaneous internal and mucosal bleeding, clinically manifesting as nosebleeds.
Can hepatitis B turn into liver cancer?
Hepatitis B can gradually develop into cirrhosis or liver cancer. Therefore, if a hepatitis B virus infection is detected, it needs attention. If the hepatitis B surface antigen is positive in the HBV "two-and-a-half" test, it indicates a hepatitis B virus infection. Once infected with the hepatitis B virus, it is necessary to regularly check liver function and hepatitis B virus DNA, as well as have abdominal ultrasounds. If an increase in transaminases is found, it indicates the transformation into chronic hepatitis B, necessitating liver-protecting and enzyme-lowering treatments. If the hepatitis B virus DNA exceeds a certain value, antiviral treatment is also needed. After being infected with the hepatitis B virus, it is crucial to rest and avoid excessive fatigue and staying up late.