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Spontaneous necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report
Yoshikazu Morimoto1, Yasuhiro Tanaka, Toshinori Itoh
1Department of Surgery, Osaka Prefecture General Hospital, Osaka, Japan. yoshi-mo@vega.ocn.ne.jp
Background:
Spontaneous regression of a malignant tumor is a rare phenomenon. So far, 13 cases of spontaneous regression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been described in the English literature. We report a case of HCC, with spontaneous complete necrosis demonstrated by histological examination.
Methods:
A 73-year-old male was admitted to our hospital complaining of general fatigue. CT and US revealed a huge mass measuring 9.5 cm at the left lobe. Angiographies showed hypovascular tumor stains. The levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and PIVKA-2 on admission were high, at 55 ng/ml and 62,300 mAU/ml, respectively. We diagnosed hypovascular HCC and performed a left lobectomy on October 16, 2000.
Results:
In the histological examination, no viable cells were found. The levels of AFP and PIVKA-2 had already decreased to 14 ng/ml and 1,420 mAU/ml, before laparotomy.
Conclusion:
Changes in tumor markers and histological findings reveal that this phenomenon occurred without specific treatment.