Does early-stage liver cancer cause itchy skin?

Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
Updated on January 10, 2025
00:00
00:00

Liver cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in the digestive system. In the early stages of liver cancer, most patients do not exhibit symptoms of skin itching. It is only when the cancer progresses and causes obstructive jaundice that patients clinically develop symptoms of skin itching. Early-stage liver cancer patients typically do not show typical clinical symptoms, or they may not have any significant symptoms at all. This is because early-stage liver cancer lesions are small and localized, without external invasion or metastasis. Therefore, the impact on the entire body is minimal, and clinically it generally manifests as mild abdominal bloating, discomfort, nausea, diarrhea, and some patients may experience a dull ache or discomfort in the liver area. Because the symptoms of early-stage liver cancer are atypical, many patients are already in the middle to late stages by the time they seek medical attention, missing the opportunity for clinical cure.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Hu Chen
Imaging Center
54sec home-news-image

Liver cancer B-ultrasound manifestations

Generally speaking, for diseases of the hepatobiliary system, most of us conduct examinations using ultrasound because it is very convenient, safe, involves no radiation, and the results are relatively quick. Generally, liver cancer can appear as hypoechoic, hyperechoic, or mixed echogenicity on ultrasound. Most such liver cancer nodules may have a complete capsule, but some may not have a complete capsule. Overall, this type of liver cancer tends to grow expansively and invasively, compressing the surrounding normal liver tissue, and possibly showing some halo signs around it. The vast majority of liver cancers do not occur independently; they usually develop gradually from cirrhosis. Therefore, there is often an enlargement of the portal vein, and in some cases of liver cancer with metastasis, thrombosis in the portal vein can be seen.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Ye Xi Yong
Infectious Diseases
36sec home-news-image

Will Hepatitis B with e-antigen positive develop into liver cancer?

A small portion of patients with hepatitis B major yang can develop into liver cancer, but this development process is generally long. Primary liver cancer is currently the fourth most common malignant tumor in China, and the third leading cause of tumor death, seriously threatening the lives and health of our people. Primary liver cancer includes three types, of which hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for more than 85% to 90%. A large part of patients with primary liver cancer in China, most of whom have a background of chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
1min 1sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Cui Fang Bo
Oncology
1min 3sec home-news-image

Will early-stage liver cancer cause a low-grade fever?

Patients with early-stage liver cancer may experience low-grade fevers, primarily due to the following two reasons: First, tumor fever. In the early stages of liver cancer, some tumor cells can release tumor mediators into the bloodstream, affecting the function of the temperature regulation center and causing the patient to develop a fever. This type of tumor fever is usually not very high, remaining below 38.5°C, without concurrent symptoms or signs of infection. A complete blood count typically indicates that the total number of white blood cells and the proportion of neutrophils are not elevated. The second scenario involves patients in the early stages of liver cancer experiencing fever due to concurrent infections. These patients often present with symptoms and signs related to infection, such as coughing up phlegm, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and urinary frequency, urgency, or pain. The proportion of white blood cells and neutrophils is significantly increased in these cases.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Du Ning
Hepatobiliary Surgery
1min 8sec home-news-image

Can gallbladder stones turn into liver cancer?

Long-term pathological changes from hepatobiliary calculi can lead to liver cancer. Hepatobiliary calculi generally refer to intrahepatic bile duct stones. When these stones grow in a single duct and gradually increase in number and size, they can cause obstruction of the bile duct. Obstruction of the bile duct subsequently leads to cholangitis, which involves repeated inflammatory irritation. This, in turn, can cause malignant transformation of the bile duct cells. Following this transformation, a tumor forms, which can develop into cholangiocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer. Therefore, if intrahepatic bile duct stones cause long-term inflammatory stimulation, it can lead to cancerous changes and result in liver cancer. Thus, if intrahepatic bile duct stones have already caused noticeable clinical symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, and liver function abnormalities, aggressive surgical treatment should be considered.