We all know that the threat of tumors to health and life depends not only on the type of tumor, but more importantly, when the tumor is discovered sooner or later. Liver cancer is one of them. Studies have shown that the mortality rate of advanced liver cancer within 1 year can reach more than 90%, while the mortality rate of early liver cancer after surgical treatment is less than 2%. Unfortunately, 60% of liver cancer patients are diagnosed when liver cancer develops to the middle or late stage. Many patients even regard the early manifestations of liver cancer as symptoms of gastric disease for a long time, so they lose the chance to save. So, how to identify early signs of liver cancer? Who are the focus of screening?
Let’s first look at the manifestations of liver cancer. Patients with liver cancer usually have five types of manifestations at different stages of cancer development. The first category is fatigue and weight loss. This manifestation usually occurs after the middle stage of liver cancer. Due to metabolic changes, food intake is reduced, resulting in a consuming constitution. Category 2, fever, typically manifests as fever in the afternoon, with a body temperature of around 38 degrees Celsius. Category 3, indigestion-like manifestations, such as fullness after meals, loss of appetite, or nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Category 4, abdominal pain. Category 5, other symptoms, such as bleeding gums, subcutaneous ecchymosis.
The study found that about 37% of liver cancer patients ignored the often-occurring stomach pains and mistakenly responded to their conditions according to stomach problems, resulting in delays in diagnosis and treatment. From the perspective of anatomical position, the liver and the stomach are adjacent; from the perspective of physiological function, both the liver and the stomach are digestive organs. In addition, there is also a folk saying that there are ten stomach diseases and nine diseases, because the incidence of various stomach diseases is high, and stomach diseases naturally come to mind when abdominal discomfort and digestive tract symptoms appear. This is a related factor that makes it difficult for a large number of liver cancer patients to be diagnosed at an early stage.
Stomach pain caused by liver cancer is mostly located in the right rib or under the xiphoid process. The nature of the pain is persistent dull pain, dull pain, and stabbing pain. The appearance or relief of pain is usually not significantly related to eating. Important features for differentiating from gastric pain. In addition, abdominal pain caused by liver cancer can cause referred pain. Causes pain in the right shoulder or right back. Advanced liver cancer, if metastasized, can cause chest pain or bone pain. If the tumor nodules on the surface of the liver rupture and bleed, it will cause severe pain, accompanied by dizziness, palpitation, and decreased blood pressure.
It is worth noting that normal liver function test results do not rule out the possibility of liver cancer. Because, in the early or middle stage of liver cancer, mild elevation of transaminase may occur, which is easy to be ignored. From the perspective of physiological characteristics, the liver has a strong regeneration and reserve capacity. As long as about 30% of the liver cells work normally, the liver can still perform related functions without obvious symptoms of discomfort. Many indicators of liver function tests, There are no obvious exceptions.
The screening of liver cancer is mainly through B-ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein detection. B-ultrasound can detect liver cancer lesions with a diameter of more than 1 cm, and alpha-fetoprotein is a specific marker of liver cancer and one of the criteria for diagnosing primary liver cancer. In order to prevent and detect liver cancer early, it is recommended that high-risk groups undergo B-ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein examination every six months. Alcoholics. In other groups, if men are over 40 years old and women are over 50 years old, liver cancer screening should be performed once a year.
It should be reminded that most of the liver cancer patients among our compatriots are related to hepatitis virus infection. Among them, 90% of liver cancer patients have been carriers of hepatitis B virus or hepatitis B patients. Hepatitis B virus carriers do not necessarily develop liver cancer, however, 10% to 20% of chronic hepatitis B patients will develop cirrhosis, and 5% to 20% of liver cirrhosis will develop into liver cancer. In addition, 30% to 40% of hepatitis C patients will develop cirrhosis, and 5% to 7% of them will develop primary liver cancer. Therefore, preventing and treating viral hepatitis and preventing the disease from developing into cirrhosis are important measures to reduce the risk of liver cancer.
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Your health is my concern. Professionals observe health from a scientific and humanistic perspective, including series of bulletins, details, reminders, doubts, observations, viewpoints, historical stories, etc. The content is the original work of author Wei Hongling and his team. All forms of misappropriation and reprinting without permission are refused, otherwise they will be investigated in accordance with relevant laws.