Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma with skeletal metastases

Skeletal metastases is relatively rare in hepatocellular carcinoma and accounts for 4-16% of extrahepatic metastases. The authors report a 13-year-old girl with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, who rejected further systemic chemotherapy following hepatic lobectomy and experienced sternal and vertebral painful metastases nearly 5 years after the operation. The sternal metastatic lesion was removed surgically, whereas external irradiation was delivered to the lumbar vertebral lesion. The patient received no systemic treatment following metastases and died with widespread disease. Despite metastatic disease, the patient survived 6.5 years following the initial diagnosis.