Symptoms

Main symptoms of liver cancer

Liver cancer may not have any symptoms, or they might be hard to spot.

The symptoms are the same if the liver cancer starts in the liver (primary liver cancer) or spreads from another part of the body (secondary liver cancer).

Symptoms of liver cancer can include:

the whites of your eyes turning yellow or your skin turning yellow, which may be less obvious on brown or black skin (jaundice) - you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual
loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
feeling tired or having no energy
feeling generally unwell or having symptoms like flu
a lump in the right side of your tummy

Other symptoms can affect your digestion, such as:

feeling or being sick
pain at the top right side of your tummy or in your right shoulder
symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling full very quickly when eating
a very swollen tummy that is not related to when you eat

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow
you're being sick for more than 2 days

111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one.

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

See a GP if you have:

a lump in your tummy
lost a lot of weight without trying
symptoms of liver cancer that get worse or do not get better after 2 weeks

Important

Many of these symptoms are very common and can be caused by different conditions.

Having them does not definitely mean you have liver cancer. But it's important to get them checked by a GP.

This is because if they're caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it's easier to treat.

What happens at the GP appointment

The GP may feel your tummy. They may also listen to your chest.

Referral to a specialist

You may get an urgent referral for more tests or to see a specialist in hospital if the GP thinks you have symptoms that could be cancer. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.

Find out more

Cancer Research UK: seeing a GP with symptoms that could be caused by liver cancer

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