Does liver cancer cause nosebleeds in its early stages?

Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
Updated on March 05, 2025
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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.

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How to reduce fever in late-stage liver cancer

For late-stage liver cancer patients experiencing fever, antipyretic treatment should be based on different circumstances. If the fever is due to an infection, it often exceeds 39℃ and is accompanied by symptoms and signs related to the infection, such as cough and yellow sputum, abdominal pain, diarrhea, frequent urination, urgency, and painful urination. In such cases, antibiotics should be used for anti-infective treatment, along with antipyretic analgesics for fever reduction. If the fever is due to tumor fever or interventions like liver procedures, there are no infection-related factors, usually the temperature does not exceed 38.5℃, and there are no symptoms or signs related to infection. The treatment primarily involves the use of antipyretic analgesics for fever reduction.

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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.

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Surgical Oncology
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Is primary liver cancer contagious?

Primary liver cancer refers to malignant tumors that occur in the liver and are not metastasized from other parts of the body. Such liver cancer itself is not contagious. However, if liver cancer patients have other infectious diseases, transmission may be possible. Most primary liver cancers are related to liver cirrhosis following hepatitis, with hepatitis B being the most common. If accompanied by hepatitis B, it can be contagious, but it usually doesn't spread through regular daily contact. The main transmission routes for hepatitis B are through blood, mother-to-child transmission, and sexual transmission. This means that as long as the patient's blood does not injure someone else, contagion is generally unlikely, so there is no need for excessive worry.

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Infectious Diseases
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Will having hepatitis B antibodies lead to liver cancer?

Firstly, there is no necessary connection between liver cancer and antibodies, but if a patient has hepatitis B antibodies, then the chance of this patient contracting hepatitis B is very small. Relatively speaking, since hepatitis B can develop into liver cancer, having positive hepatitis B antibodies might reduce the chance of developing liver cancer. However, there are many types of liver cancer, and its causes are varied, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and other factors.

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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.