In life, we ourselves or our friends and relatives often appear nausea, bloating, abdominal pain and other “stomach problems”, many people think it is bad food, or cold and other reasons caused by digestive tract diseases, and not many people care, often is to carry over or take some oral stomach medicine to relieve the symptoms. But are these symptoms really just the manifestation of digestive disorders? In fact, there are many causes of stomach discomfort, and liver disease is one of the common causes. Statistics show that about 37% of liver disease patients mistakenly think it is “stomach disease” at the beginning of the disease and do not pay attention to it, which may eventually turn into liver cancer, thus missing the best time for treatment.
Liver cancer is one of the top ten tumors with the highest incidence rate in the world, and statistics show that the mortality rate of liver cancer in China is the second highest among malignant tumors (after stomach cancer). Liver cancer starts insidiously, and in the early stage, it may only show digestive symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain and abdominal distension, which are easily confused with gastric disease, and once the typical clinical manifestations appear, it is usually in the middle and late stage and misses the best treatment time.
Then, besides digestive tract manifestations, what other symptoms need to remind us that liver cancer is looking for the door?
1. Pain in liver area: this is the most common manifestation of liver cancer, mainly in the subserous process or right rib area, manifested as intermittent or continuous dull pain or stabbing pain, aggravated when breathing or acute abdominal symptoms. If the tumor is located in the top of diaphragm in the right lobe of liver, radiating pain in the right shoulder or right back may appear.
2.Lack of energy and weight loss: mainly seen in middle and late stage liver cancer, because the tumor keeps competing with human body for nutrition in the process of growth, and the patient’s weight is obviously reduced.
3.Fever: mostly around 37.5-38℃, and a few can reach 39℃.
4. Bleeding tendency: mainly manifested as nose bleeding, gum bleeding, subcutaneous petechiae and so on.
Since the early symptoms of liver cancer are not easily distinguishable from those of stomach disease, how to detect liver cancer in early stage? And what tests are used to confirm the diagnosis of liver cancer?
As I mentioned in my previous article, medical checkup is the main way to detect early liver cancer, regardless of whether there are symptoms or not, annual regular medical checkup is necessary, especially for those who have a history of hepatitis virus infection, cirrhosis, family history of liver cancer, blood transfusion, alcoholism and other high incidence of liver cancer.
In addition to routine liver function tests and marker tests for viral hepatitis (mainly hepatitis B and C), it is also necessary to check for
1. Tumor markers (AFP, CEA, CA199): Among them, AFP is one of the best methods for early diagnosis of liver cancer, which can be diagnosed 6-12 months before the appearance of clinical symptoms, and is a sensitive indicator reflecting the change of disease and treatment effect. Especially, if the AFP level continues to rise or exceeds 200μg/L for several times, the presence of liver cancer should be highly suspected.
2.Ultrasound examination: It is the most common localization examination for liver cancer. At present, it can detect small liver cancer less than 25px, and can clarify the blood supply of liver cancer, which can guide the selection of treatment methods and surgery.
3.CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination: it has become a routine examination for liver cancer diagnosis, which can clarify the location, size, quantity and other information of liver cancer and provide comprehensive information for liver cancer diagnosis and treatment.
There are many other diagnostic methods for liver cancer, and the above are the most commonly used examinations in general.
At present, hepatitis virus (especially hepatitis B, hepatitis C virus), aflatoxin and drinking water pollution are considered to be the main causes of liver cancer. In addition, there are also studies showing that smoking, alcoholism and genetics are also related to the development of liver cancer. Therefore, in daily life, we also need to pay attention to.
1.Drinking water safety: Do not drink tap water without purification.
2. Food safety: do not eat moldy food, especially peanuts and corn.
3, prevention of hepatitis: especially the prevention of hepatitis B, hepatitis B prevention needs to start from children, timely vaccination against hepatitis B.
4.Other: It is also necessary to pay attention to quit smoking, limit alcohol, and supplement trace elements (such as selenium), etc.
Liver cancer can be cured with early detection and early treatment, so people who often have symptoms of “stomach disease”, especially those who have a history of hepatitis virus infection, cirrhosis, family history of liver cancer and alcoholism, should not self-medicate and must go to hospital for thorough examination in time except for early liver disease so as not to delay the treatment. It is important to go to a hospital for a thorough examination to exclude early liver disease so as not to delay the treatment.