Hepatocellular carcinoma with pharyngeal metastasis: report of a case

We report a case of pharyngeal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Any oral cavity involvement of HCC, especially pharyngeal metastasis, is extremely rare. The resected specimen contained a pedunculated polypoid lesion and histological examination revealed an epithelial tumor with a trabecular growth pattern, covered with intact squamous mucosa. Immunohistochemical studies were positive for hepatocyte-specific antigen and alpha-fetoprotein. At the time of writing, the patient, a 73-year-old man, was alive but with multiple recurrent lesions in the remnant liver, 1 year after resection of the pharyngeal metastasis. Oral metastases should be treated surgically or endoscopically if possible for the symptomatic relief of oral discomfort, pain, and bleeding; however, the prognosis is generally poor.