Complete spontaneous necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma confirmed on resection: A case report.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Complete spontaneous necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without any pretreatment or angiography is rare. We present a rare case of spontaneous complete necrosis of HCC, as confirmed after hepatectomy.

PRESENTATION OF CASE:

The patient, a 74-year-old man with a history of alcoholic hepatitis, was referred to our hospital for confirmation of suspected HCC. In March 2015, abdominal ultrasonography detected a low echoic mass in segment 8 (S8) of the liver. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) imaging revealed interval growth of this tumor and showed that the tumor was well enhanced in the arterial phase and washed out in the portal and delayed phases. The serum alpha-fetoprotein level was elevated at 30.8ng/mL and the percentage of the L3 isoform was 25.5%. Two months later, CT imaging showed that the tumor was of low density and had decreased in size; no contrast enhancement of the tumor was seen. Spontaneous necrosis of the HCC was considered; however, as we could not exclude viable malignant cells in the tumor, we performed S8 segmentectomy of the liver. The resected tumor specimen had a thick fibrous capsule. Histopathological findings showed only granulation and necrotic tissue accompanied by bleeding and hemosiderosis. No viable tumor cells were observed. The serum alpha-fetoprotein level returned to the normal range one month after surgery.

DISCUSSION:

If spontaneous regression has occurred, there is a possibility of HCC recurrence and of remnant viable tumor cells.

CONCLUSION:

We present a rare case of complete spontaneous necrosis of HCC and strongly recommended surgical intervention.

• Authors: Ryusuke Saito, Hironobu Amano, Tomoyuki Abe, Nobuaki Fujikuni, Masahiro Nakahara, Shuji Yonehara, Kazushi Teramen, Toshio Noriyuki
• Journal: International journal of surgery case reports (Int J Surg Case Rep) Vol. 22 Pg. 70-4 ( 2016) ISSN: 2210-2612 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 27060644 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.