The ability to walk, move and sleep does not necessarily correlate with the advanced stage of liver cancer, and some patients still have a certain degree of self-care ability even in the advanced stage of liver cancer. Currently, AJCC staging and BCLC staging are commonly used to evaluate the clinical staging of liver cancer.
According to AJCC TNM staging of liver cancer, patients should be considered in clinical stage IV, i.e., advanced stage of the tumor, when the tumor infiltrates the periportal structures, regional lymph node metastasis occurs, and metastasis to distant organs occurs.
AJCC staging does not consider the size of the tumor, and liver cancer with a diameter greater than 10 cm is usually called giant liver cancer in China, at which time the patient’s condition is also relatively serious.
BCLC staging incorporates liver function into the basis of staging and further proposes recommended treatments for different stages. If extrahepatic metastasis has been found, the patient is in stage III, at this time surgery is no longer recommended, and interventional and comprehensive internal medicine is the main treatment.
If the patient’s liver function is graded as Child-Pugh C, i.e. clinical stage IV, it is difficult to carry out anti-tumor treatment at this time, and symptomatic supportive treatment and palliative treatment are the mainstay.
Patients with liver cancer are recommended to go to the hospital as early as possible for consultation, and ask professional doctors to evaluate their condition and clinical stage and make corresponding treatment plan.