Exophytic cystic liver lesion: an unusual presentation of a hepatocellular carcinoma in a young female.

Gardiner T., Nasralla D., Fryer E., Bungay H., Silva M.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant primary liver tumours. However, primary hepatic carcinomas are rare in young adults, accounting for approximately 1% of tumours in people below the age of 20. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are the two most important aetiological agents of HCC. The average age at onset of HBV-related HCC (~50 years old) is 10 years younger than that of HCV-related HCC (61-64 years). Evidence for an association between the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and development of HCC remains inconclusive. Here, we describe a case of a 28-year-old woman with normal background liver, who presented with a large palpable abdominal mass due to a bilobar, exophytic, cystic lesion arising from the right lobe of the liver, later diagnosed as HCC on histological analysis. We highlight the need for considering HCC even in the unusual setting of a cystic, exophytic lesion.

DOI

10.1136/bcr-2017-222076

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2017-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

2017

Keywords

hepatic cancer, surgical oncology, Adult, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Diagnosis, Differential, Female, Humans, Liver Neoplasms, Tomography, X-Ray Computed

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