What Skin Symptoms Can Liver Cancer Cause?
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Liver cancer can invade normal liver tissue and obstruct connections between the liver and other organs. It can therefore disrupt the normal processing of a substance called bilirubin, produced by the liver. This causes bilirubin to build up in the blood, leading to jaundice.
Bilirubin is a substance partly produced by the liver and formed when a protein called hemoglobin breaks down. It results from the breakdown of red blood cells and is metabolized by the liver. It is excreted in urine and stool, particularly through bile. An elevated level may indicate a problem involving the liver, bile ducts, or red blood cells.
How Does Liver Cancer Affect the Skin?
Cancer is uncontrolled, abnormal cell growth. It can begin in many of the body's cells. When it starts in liver cells, it is called liver cancer.
Jaundice is known to be a common sign of liver cancer. It causes yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes, such as the gums and whites of the eyes. This is called icterus . The color can become greenish, and the skin may also itch.
What Stage of Liver Cancer Does Jaundice Indicate?
The stage of liver cancer is considered when assessing its course and planning treatment. Stages reflect cancer severity, with later stages indicating more serious disease. There are four main stages, from 1 to 4: stage 1 is the earliest, while stage 4 is advanced cancer that has spread to other organs.
Jaundice is generally a sign of advanced liver cancer. This type of jaundice generally reflects cancer growth that prevents bile from flowing as it should. In other words, jaundice in liver cancer results from bile duct obstruction .
However, liver cancer is not the only cause of jaundice. Other relatively common causes include:
- Viral hepatitis
- Cirrhosis
- Gallstones
- Gallbladder cancer
Anyone with signs of jaundice should see a doctor.
Why Does Liver Cancer Cause Jaundice?
The liver has many functions, including processing the yellowish pigment bilirubin. The body forms bilirubin when aging red blood cells break down, and the liver sends processed bilirubin to the intestines.
Liver cancer can impair liver function and destroy substantial numbers of liver cells. As a result, the liver cannot process certain amounts of bilirubin. If cancer spreads from the liver to nearby organs, it may also prevent bilirubin from reaching the intestines.
These processes can cause bilirubin to accumulate in the blood, leading to jaundice.
What Are Total and Direct Bilirubin? How Do They Differ?
Total and direct bilirubin are laboratory tests used to measure liver and kidney function because they rise in many conditions, including liver or kidney disorders.
Bilirubin is an important metabolite of heme, a coordination complex that binds iron in various proteins. It is potentially toxic, but the body has developed mechanisms for safe detoxification and elimination. Bilirubin and its metabolites also give bile and stool, and to a lesser extent urine, their characteristic yellow color.
Bilirubin has two main sources. Roughly 80% comes from the breakdown of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in aging red blood cells and prematurely destroyed erythroid cells in bone marrow. The remainder comes from the turnover of various heme-containing proteins in other tissues, particularly liver and muscle. Approximately 4 mg/kg body weight of bilirubin is produced daily.
Total bilirubin measures the amount of all forms (direct and indirect) produced in the liver. Direct bilirubin is only the form produced in the liver and excreted in urine. Direct bilirubin is expected to rise when a bile duct is obstructed. In contrast, elevated indirect bilirubin results from a disorder of bilirubin metabolism. Common causes include hepatitis (such as viral hepatitis, chronic alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis) and hemolytic anemia (abnormal red blood cell breakdown). Indirect bilirubin can rise in any condition that slows the liver's bilirubin metabolism.
Direct bilirubin is less toxic than indirect bilirubin.
What Other Symptoms Can Liver Cancer Cause?
Liver cancer does not affect only the skin. It has many other possible symptoms, some resulting from its effects on the liver. These include:
- Loss of appetite and weight
- Feeling full despite eating less than usual
- Nausea and vomiting
- Enlargement of the liver and spleen
- An enlarged liver or spleen
- Fluid accumulation in the abdomen (ascites)
- Enlarged veins over the abdomen
- Fever
- Abnormal bleeding or bruising
- Itching
- Abdominal pain
In some cases, liver tumors release hormones. These can create imbalances affecting other organs as well as the liver.
Such processes can cause other symptoms of liver cancer:
- Hormones causing high blood calcium: May cause nausea, constipation, confusion, weakness, and muscle problems.
- Hormones causing low blood sugar: May cause fatigue or fainting.
- Hormones causing a high red blood cell count: May cause a flushed appearance.
Liver cancer can also cause high cholesterol, breast enlargement (gynecomastia), and shrinking testicles.
When to See a Doctor
Liver cancer does not always cause jaundice, but anyone experiencing it needs medical help. Jaundice does not always indicate liver cancer, but it should still be investigated.
Seeing a doctor early can lead to earlier liver cancer diagnosis and a better disease course and outcomes.
According to US statistics, relative 5-year survival for early-stage liver cancer is approximately 35%. Unfortunately, this falls to around 3% in advanced disease, partly because specialists can treat liver cancer more easily at earlier stages.
Some treatment options can be particularly effective in early-stage liver cancer. Liver transplantation in early-stage disease raises 5-year survival to 60-70%.
Summary
Liver cancer develops when liver cells grow and multiply abnormally. This can impair liver function and increase blood bilirubin levels, leading to jaundice. People with jaundice have itchy, yellowish skin.
Liver cancer has many other symptoms, such as nausea, fever, and confusion. Seeking specialist help promptly can lead to early diagnosis and treatment and therefore a more favorable disease course and outcomes.
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