 I am Dr. Olyth Selvan, Consentant Hepatologist and Chairman Division of Liver Transplantation in Manipal Hospital. Liver cancer is diagnosed based on a blood test called alpha-fetaprotein and radiological imaging of the abdomen either by ultrasound or CT scan. Symptoms of liver cancer which occurs are pretty late in the disease process. So if someone presents with symptoms related to liver cancer, it is usually an advanced disease. So if you talk about the early symptoms of liver cancer, they're either not there or pretty non-specific. So unless you look out for liver cancer, it is very difficult to diagnose liver cancer early.