Metastatic liver cancer: a rare case

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor especially when it rises in the peritoneal cavity. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman with an isolated recurrent hemangiopericytoma of the liver. The patient presented with a palpable right upper quadrant abdominal mass, which occurred 7 years after undergoing resection of a malignant hemangiopericytoma arising from the greater omentum. She had not followed up 6 mo after surgery. Various imaging studies showed a single large, well-capsulated liver tumor with central necrosis, accompanied by hypervascularity typical of a vascular tumor. Preoperative laboratory HBsAg and anti-HCV workup were both negative. Under the impression of recurrent malignant hemangiopericytoma, right trisegmentectomy was performed to completely resect the tumor. Pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of recurrent hemangiopericytoma. Even though the incidence of the hemangiopericytoma is relatively low, malignant hemangiopericytoma has a tendency to recur frequently after a long-term disease-free interval. Also, the recurrent hemangiopericytoma is not easily detected early during follow-up until it becomes symptomatic because there are no specific tumor markers, and because of the diversity with regard to site of recurrence. The authors suggest that Positron Emission Tomogram (PET) may be a useful tool for the detection of recurrent hemangiopericytoma. We describe herein some characteristics and behaviors of malignant hemangiopericytoma, particularly after surgical resection.