Does early-stage liver cancer cause pain when pressed?

Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
Updated on May 15, 2025
00:00
00:00

In the early stages of liver cancer, patients generally do not experience pain when pressing on the liver area. Pain in the liver area or a sensation of liver pain typically occurs in the middle or late stages of liver cancer and is a common manifestation.

The main reasons for the pain are that the liver cancer lesions are large, causing an increase in liver volume, which leads to a tense pain in the liver capsule. Additionally, the invasion of liver cancer into the liver cells and surrounding tissues can cause pain. Another cause of pain may be abnormal hormone secretion triggered by the lesions, which then stimulates the pain perception centers, resulting in pain.

For patients with early-stage liver cancer, the tumors are generally small and usually do not cause noticeable clinical symptoms. In many cases, patients may exhibit non-specific symptoms such as indigestion and mild fatigue. In contrast, patients with middle to late-stage liver cancer often exhibit more clinical manifestations due to the progression of the disease.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Cui Fang Bo
Oncology
43sec home-news-image

Is the alpha-fetoprotein high in the early stage of liver cancer?

Patients with liver cancer may not necessarily have elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in the early stages. CEA, a commonly used tumor marker, tends to increase in various types of malignancies. However, an elevation in CEA is not necessarily linked to the occurrence of malignant tumors. Many patients with early-stage tumors, including liver cancer, may not have elevated CEA levels at diagnosis. Conversely, elevated CEA levels in some patients may be due to benign conditions and not necessarily indicate malignancy. Therefore, it is unreasonable to determine the presence of liver cancer solely based on the elevation of CEA.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Si Li Li
Gastroenterology
58sec home-news-image

Can hepatitis B lead to liver cancer?

Hepatitis B can cause chronic infection in the body, which may damage liver cells and potentially lead to liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. Therefore, in cases of hepatitis B virus infection, it is necessary to regularly check liver function and hepatitis B virus DNA. If abnormal transaminase levels are found, timely liver-protective and enzyme-lowering treatments should be administered. If the hepatitis B virus DNA reaches a certain level, antiviral treatment should be initiated to potentially slow the progression of hepatitis B developing into liver cirrhosis or even liver cancer. Additionally, carriers of the hepatitis B virus or patients with hepatitis B should take care to rest adequately, avoid excessive fatigue and staying up late, abstain from alcohol, and maintain a light, digestible diet.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Ye Xi Yong
Infectious Diseases
32sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Sun Wei
Surgical Oncology
49sec home-news-image

Can primary liver cancer be treated?

Primary liver cancer is also treatable. Generally, if the primary liver cancer is small and has not widely metastasized, surgical resection can be considered, mainly involving hepatectomy and lymph node dissection. Postoperative comprehensive treatment including chemotherapy and radiotherapy is also applied. For primary liver cancer, interventional chemotherapy, as well as methods like cryotherapy, microwave, and ablation can be considered to control the progression of the disease. Additionally, oral targeted therapy such as sorafenib can be used. If primary liver cancer is widely metastasized at the time of detection, there generally aren’t very effective treatment options, and the average survival period might be around six months, with poor treatment outcomes.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
47sec home-news-image

Is increased lung markings related to liver cancer?

Increased pulmonary markings are clinically associated with many inducing factors, but they are not directly related to liver cancer. It's important to understand that liver cancer involves the presence of cancer cells in the liver, while increased pulmonary markings are radiographic signs observed during lung imaging examinations. Clinically, there are many factors that can lead to increased pulmonary markings, but liver cancer does not cause this condition. Typically, increased pulmonary markings may be due to excessive obesity, long-term smoking, or the presence of inflammatory lesions in the lungs, all of which can cause varying degrees of increased pulmonary markings.