[Needle tract seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation]

Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and core needle biopsy (CNB) are effective methods for the diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions. In case of neoplastic lesions, however, this may be followed by the seeding of malignant cells along the needle tract. We report a case of subcutaneous needle tract seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 25 months after liver transplantation. A 57-year-old man with compensated hepatitis-B-related liver cirrhosis was diagnosed with HCC by CNB, and the lesion was resected. Ten months after the procedure, FNAC of a small hepatic lesion confirmed tumor recurrence. The patient was successfully transplanted and 25 months later, a subcutaneous tumor appeared on the abdominal wall over the previous site of puncture without further dissemination of the disease. Total resection of the lesion confirmed HCC. It remains undetermined whether the seeding appeared after FNAC or CNB. After 18-month follow-up the patient was uneventful. The objectives of this report are to present clinical aspects and outcome of HCC needle tract seeding in a transplanted patient, discussing the problems and pitfalls of diagnostic workup and management of HCC.