Introduction
Liver cancer is a malignant tumor that ranks fifth among the most common tumors worldwide. Usually, a liver tumor develops from an underlying liver disease, such as cirrhosis of the liver or chronic inflammation of the liver, for example hepatitis. However, the tumor is often detected very late due to the few symptoms.
Symptoms in the final stage
Unfortunately, liver cancer itself is very asymptomatic and causes few symptoms in the early stages. This is one reason why in many cases liver cancer is diagnosed only in advanced stages and then progresses rapidly into the final stages. In the final stage, the limited or lost function of the liver is the biggest problem.
Normally, the liver serves to produce many important metabolic products, as well as to detoxify and excrete all waste products of the body. If this function is lost, the severe symptoms of end-stage liver cancer occur. The most common symptoms that patients with end-stage liver cancer experience include water in the abdomen, or an increase in the size of the abdomen, itchy or burning skin, weight loss, inappetence, pressure pain in the right upper abdomen or yellowing of the skin and eyes.
However, it should always be remembered that the final stage of liver cancer cannot be detected by symptoms alone. Almost all patients with advanced liver cancer have water in their abdomen or, as it is called in the medical terminology, ascites or dropsy. In liver cancer, the water in the abdomen is a result of disturbed metabolic processes and a change in the pressure in the abdomen.
The water often only causes symptoms when large quantities accumulate in the abdomen and the abdominal girth increases sharply. Smaller quantities of water in the abdomen can be flushed out with the help of medication. However, if patients have a lot of water in their abdomen, or if there is already severe pain due to the increase in the abdominal circumference, a puncture must be performed to slowly drain the abdominal water.
and pain after a punctureThe yellowing of the skin and often also of the eyes is called jaundice in medical terminology. This icterus is caused by a certain protein in our body, which under normal circumstances is stored in the liver and then excreted through the intestines, the so-called bilirubin. If, however, the liver or even the bile ducts become diseased, it can lead to the bilirubin no longer being excreted.
As a result, the bilirubin is deposited in other parts of the body, especially in the skin and the sclera of the eyes (usually the whites of the eyes), where it is responsible for the yellow coloration. Icterus is not a compelling symptom of liver cancer and can also occur in other diseases. In the case of end-stage liver cancer, however, almost all patients have experienced jaundice at least once during the course of the disease.
Vomiting is a symptom that occurs in a number of diseases and is actually intended to help the body get rid of toxic substances. In the case of liver cancer, the vomiting is often very strong, because the disease of the liver also means that the function of the detoxification of the liver is lost. As a result, there are many proteins and substances floating around in the body that are harmful to the body and from which it wants to get rid.
These substances and proteins now increasingly irritate the vomiting center in the body and this leads to regular and strong vomiting. Pain in liver cancer is a typical sign of disease progression and occurs more often in the terminal stage of the cancer. Here, the pain manifests itself particularly in the right upper abdomen and can radiate from here to other parts of the body.
Often, pain in the context of liver cancer is an indication that the cancer has spread beyond the liver or is affecting other organs. Metastases of liver cancer, which occur particularly in the final stages, can also cause severe pain. Here, the main focus is on metastases in the bones, such as in the spine, which can lead to severe back pain.
