Signs indicating liver cysts

Liver cysts are usually benign and very rarely malignant (unless the cyst is caused by cancer metastasizing from another area outside the liver).

A cyst is defined as a cavity that may contain fluid, blood, or nothing at all, located within the liver tissue. Liver cysts originate from liver cells, blood vessels supplying the liver, bile ducts within the liver, etc. Therefore, biliary cysts and vascular cysts are commonly found in the liver.

Liver cysts can be caused by parasitic infections such as liver flukes, tuberculosis bacteria (tuberculosis cysts), genetic or congenital factors, or cancer from other organs metastasizing to the liver.

Liver cysts are usually benign, and malignancy is very rare (unless the cyst is due to cancer metastasis from another area outside the liver). Most cysts are only 1-2, mainly located in the right lobe of the liver, and are usually smaller than 4 cm. However, a small number of liver cysts can be very large and contain up to 1-2 liters of fluid.

Symptom

When liver cysts are small, under 4cm, they usually don't cause any symptoms (except in cases where the cyst is related to metastatic cancer from another organ spreading to the liver), so treatment is rarely necessary. However, regular check-ups every 3 months are needed to determine the cyst's growth; clinical symptoms only appear when the cyst grows larger than 6cm.

Patients may experience pain in the liver area, abdominal distension, and digestive disorders. In cases of bleeding complications, the pain will worsen and anemia may be present. Large cysts can cause poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, and possibly shortness of breath due to the cyst enlarging the liver and affecting the diaphragm, especially in cases of metastatic cancer.

Complications that can occur with large cysts include infection (upward infection from the duodenum via the bile ducts or from the bloodstream in cases of sepsis or bacteremia) or spontaneous bleeding; less commonly, torsion (occurring in pedunculated cysts), cyst rupture, or biliary obstruction due to cyst compression.

Doctor's advice

People with liver cysts should limit their intake of fatty foods and animal offal, avoid heavy work and strenuous activity, and refrain from running and jumping to prevent falls that could damage the liver area and rupture the cyst, especially if the cyst is large.

According to Health and Life