Will people with early-stage liver cancer experience weight loss?

Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
Updated on November 16, 2024
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Patients with early-stage liver cancer generally do not experience weight loss; weight loss is more commonly a clinical manifestation in patients with late-stage liver cancer. The reason for weight loss in liver cancer patients is due to the damage caused by cancerous tissue to liver function, leading to reduced synthesis of albumin. Furthermore, patients with liver cancer often experience a significant decrease in food intake, resulting in insufficient intake of nutrients such as albumin. Additionally, the progression of liver cancer tumors requires the consumption of a large amount of the body's albumin. Therefore, due to these factors, many patients with late-stage liver cancer exhibit clinical manifestations of weight loss. Moreover, besides not experiencing weight loss, patients with early-stage liver cancer also do not typically present with typical clinical symptoms. Many patients are asymptomatic, and as the lesion progresses, the cancer spreads, possibly leading to clinical manifestations associated with tumor spread. For example, pain in the liver area, a significant decrease in food intake, fatigue, fever, pain, and some patients may also exhibit symptoms of metastasis such as headaches, vomiting, abdominal pain, and abdominal distension.

Other Voices

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Will "small three yang" lead to liver cancer?

Hepatitis B "minor three positives" refers to positivity in the first, fourth, and fifth items of the complete hepatitis B panel. It is common among patients with acute and chronic hepatitis B. There is no necessary correlation between "minor three positives" and cancer. While some patients with "minor three positives" may develop liver cancer, not all liver cancer patients necessarily progress from this condition, indicating no inevitable link between the two.

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What changes occur in the hair during the early stages of liver cancer?

Liver cancer is a common type of tumor in the digestive system in China, and patients with early-stage liver cancer generally do not experience significant changes in their hair. This is because the tumors in early-stage liver cancer patients are relatively small, and the treatment often involves surgical removal, which does not require chemotherapy or other anti-tumor treatments, so the impact on the patient's hair is minimal. As the disease progresses, some patients may need to undergo chemotherapy or other anti-tumor treatments, which can lead to hair loss or changes in hair color. However, hair changes after chemotherapy in liver cancer patients are generally reversible, and hair can regrow after the end of chemotherapy. Changes in hair color, on the other hand, are generally caused by pigment deposition induced by some chemotherapy drugs.

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Written by Sun Wei
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Does primary liver cancer have a genetic basis?

Primary liver cancer is generally not certain to be hereditary, but it may be somewhat related to genetics. For example, there are often phenomena of family and regional clustering of liver cancer. Current research believes that primary liver cancer, commonly referred to as liver cancer, is the result of a combination of factors, closely associated with hepatitis virus infection, aflatoxin infection, and contaminated drinking water. Common scenarios include hepatitis B virus infection leading to hepatitis B followed by cirrhosis, which can further develop into primary liver cancer. Also, long-term alcohol abuse leading to alcoholic cirrhosis can also result in liver cancer.

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Written by Du Ning
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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.

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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.