Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology Program

Liver Cancer

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Liver cancer may be difficult to diagnose early because patients often have no symptoms and the cancer often grows quickly. In addition, the liver is located in a place (under the rib cage) that is difficult for a doctor to feel.

In later stages, liver cancer may cause:

discomfort on the right side of the upper abdomen
pain around the right shoulder blade
weight loss
lack of appetite
yellowing of the skin (jaundice)

Other symptoms may include a hard lump just below the rib cage on the right side of the body, fatigue, fever, or weakness.

If a patient has symptoms, his or her doctor may order special x-rays, such as a computed tomographic scan or a liver scan. If the doctor sees a lump on an x-ray, he or she may use a needle inserted into the abdomen to remove a small amount of tissue from the liver. This procedure is called a needle biopsy. The doctor will have the tissue looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. Before the test, the patient will be given a local anesthetic (a drug that causes loss of feeling in the area for a short period of time) so that he or she will feel no pain during the procedure.

The doctor may also want to look at the liver with an instrument called a laparoscope, which is a small tube-shaped instrument with a light on the end. For this test, the patient is given an anesthetic and a small cut is made in the abdomen so that the laparoscope can be inserted. The doctor may also take a small piece of tissue (biopsy specimen) during the laparoscopy and look at it under the microscope to see if there are any cancer cells.

Another test, called an angiography, can help a doctor tell whether the cancer is primary liver cancer or cancer that has spread from another part of the body. This test is usually done in the hospital. During this examination, a tube (catheter) is inserted into the main blood vessel that takes blood to the liver. Dye is then injected through the tube so that the blood vessels in the liver can be seen on an x-ray.

Certain blood tests (such as alpha-fetoprotein, or AFP) may also help a doctor diagnose primary liver cancer. However, the only way to confirm a cancer diagnosis is with a biopsy.

The chances of recovery (prognosis) from and choice of treatment for liver cancer depend on the stage of the cancer (whether it is just in the liver or has spread to other places) and the patient's general state of health.

This page was last updated on: March 3, 2008.

For More Information

Make an Appointment