Benign hepatic masses mimicking metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Making the distinction between a benign hepatic mass and renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the liver is crucial in evaluating a patient with renal cell carcinoma. The erroneous diagnosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma may deter the surgeon from performing a potentially curative nephrectomy. In this report, we present 1 patient with cavernous hemangiomas and another patient with focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver. In each case the benign liver lesion was incorrectly diagnosed initially as metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The radiographic appearance of these lesions is discussed in detail.