Liver tuberculosis mistaken for malignancy. The role of needle biopsy

Despite advances in imaging techniques rare or atypical liver lesions still pose a diagnostic challenge. In many centres percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology or biopsy is routinely performed in order to obtain a definitive diagnosis. However because of the risk of tumour seeding along the needle tract this attitude may jeopardize the patient's chances for cure in case of malignancy. The role of percutaneous liver biopsy is reappraised in the light of an observation in which major hepatectomy was performed for suspected neoplasia only to discover at pathology that the lesion was a benign tuberculosis pseudotumour.