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- Physical Examination
- There are no findings specific only to liver cancer on physical examination. Findings may include the following, all of which may have other causes:
- • Fever.
- • Enlarged liver and spleen .
- • Enlarged, hard lymph nodes .
- • Swelling of the abdomen from fluid (ascites).
- • Jaundice (the skin turning yellow).
- • Swelling of the legs (edema).
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- Blood and Other Tests
- • A complete blood count may be normal or may show a decrease (anemia) or increase in red blood cells .
- • Routine liver function studies—blood tests measuring serum bilirubin and liver enzymes—may be abnormal,
- but can be entirely normal even in advanced stages of primary liver cancer.
- • Prothrombin Time and Partial Thromboplastin Time (PT and PTT) tests of clotting—usually done if a liver
- problem is suspected—may be abnormal.