Primary carcinoid tumor of the liver: A case report

A53-year-old woman was hospitalized with a hepatic tumor that had been detected on health-screening ultrasonography. Laboratory data showed no marked findings: HBs-Ag and HCV-Ab were negative, and levels of serum AFP, PIVKA-II, CEA, and CA 19-0 were within their normal ranges. Ultrasonogram showed a hyperechoic circle concentric with and inside of a hypoechoic mass in the right hepatic lobe. The tumor appeared isodense with the surrounding liver in unenhanced CT, but enhanced CT showed a low density mass. A celiac arteriogram revealed a hypervascular tumor. The resected tumor measured 20×15 mm. Microscopic findings showed a carcinoid tumor that was positive for Grimelius stain. Further examination of the lung, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs found no primary carcinoid tumor. The patient has been well and free from tumor of the liver or elsewhere for the 7 years since her operation. We therefore considered this lesion to have been a primary carcinoid tumor of the liver. Only 14 cases of this disease have ever been reported in Japan. This report includes a review of the literature on the imaging of this rare tumor.