Can gallbladder stones turn into liver cancer?

Written by Du Ning

Hepatobiliary Surgery

Updated on October 30, 2024

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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.

Other Voices

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Written by Yan Chun

Oncology

1min 19sec

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Will early-stage liver cancer cause weight loss?

For patients with early-stage liver cancer, symptoms of wasting do not occur at the onset. This is because wasting in liver cancer patients is due to insufficient albumin synthesis as the tumor causes a substantial consumption of protein, coupled with a decrease in appetite leading to inadequate intake of nutrients such as albumin, which ultimately results in wasting. This is a common clinical manifestation in patients with advanced liver cancer. However, for patients with early-stage liver cancer, the impairment of liver function is relatively minor; therefore, their synthesis of albumin is normal. Moreover, early-stage patients exhibit almost no clinical symptoms and their appetite remains normal, with no decrease in food intake. Thus, their intake of nutrients is also maintained at normal levels. Additionally, as the tumor is smaller in the early stages, the consumption of the body's nutrients is less. Considering these three factors, the overall protein consumption remains normal and not excessive, thus preventing the patients from experiencing wasting.

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Written by Cui Fang Bo

Oncology

53sec

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Is the right shoulder pain from liver cancer persistent?

For patients with liver cancer, if there is pain in the right shoulder, it is not necessarily continuous, which depends on the specific cause of the right shoulder pain. If the pain is caused by bone metastasis of liver cancer to the right shoulder, the pain is often severe and persistent. Bone is one of the more common sites of metastasis for liver cancer. For bone metastases of liver cancer, we can use imaging studies to detect clear bone destruction at the metastatic sites on X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. If the right shoulder pain in liver cancer patients is caused by other benign conditions, the pain may not necessarily be persistent. For instance, liver cancer patients may also experience shoulder pain due to other conditions such as rotator cuff injuries, periarthritis, or minor trauma, but this pain is not necessarily continuous.

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Written by Yan Chun

Oncology

1min 18sec

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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.

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Written by Cui Fang Bo

Oncology

48sec

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How does an ultrasound show early-stage liver cancer?

Liver cancer can be detected in its early stages through Doppler ultrasound examination, which may reveal single or multiple abnormal masses within the liver. These masses often vary in size and have irregular edges, with blood flow signals inside. If liver cancer is suspected from the Doppler ultrasound, further examination with an abdominal CT or MRI can provide more detailed information about the lesions to aid in judgment. A definitive diagnosis relies on surgical removal or percutaneous liver biopsy to obtain local tissue for pathological confirmation. Patients with early-stage diagnosed liver cancer should undergo surgical treatment as soon as possible, and those who can have radical resection generally have a better prognosis.

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Written by Yan Chun

Oncology

1min 14sec

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Why can't people with liver cancer drink milk?

Liver cancer patients are generally advised not to drink milk, particularly in cases of advanced liver cancer where there is a potential for hepatic encephalopathy. This is because, for patients in the late stages of liver cancer, liver function is compromised, and some may already exhibit symptoms indicative of pre-hepatic encephalopathy. Consuming a diet rich in protein can easily trigger hepatic encephalopathy, and since milk is high in protein, its consumption is usually limited or avoided in such patients. However, for the majority of liver cancer patients, drinking milk is permissible as it not only contains abundant protein but also rich calcium, which is beneficial for the recovery of liver cancer patients. Most liver cancer patients have hypoalbuminemia (low levels of protein in the blood) and some also have hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium in the blood), thus the intake of calcium and protein-rich foods can be very beneficial for their recovery.