Awareness About Liver Cancer

Vomiting blood is considered a common but dangerous symptom of liver cancer, especially chronic liver cancer. The main reason for this is that when the liver is damaged for a long time, or cancer develops in it, the pressure in a large blood vessel passing through the liver, called the portal vein, increases greatly.

This condition is called portal hypertension. Now, since this blood cannot pass easily through the liver, the body creates alternative routes so that the blood can reach the heart. These alternative routes are mostly formed in the thin veins of the stomach and esophagus, which are called esophageal varices.

These veins are much thinner, weaker, and swollen than normal veins, just like a balloon becomes weak when filled with too much air. Now, since the walls of these veins are very fragile, even slight pressure, coughing, vomiting, straining, or even an increase in blood pressure can cause these veins to burst. When they burst, blood starts flowing directly into the stomach or esophagus, and the patient suddenly starts vomiting blood.

This problem is exacerbated in liver cancer because the cancer itself blocks or invades the portal vein, which increases the pressure even more. In addition, due to liver damage, it is not able to produce clotting factors, that is, blood clotting proteins, due to which if bleeding starts, it cannot be stopped easily.

Therefore, vomiting blood in such patients can prove to be life-threatening, and immediate medical attention is necessary.