Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression Secondary to Liver Cancer

Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment to reduce pain, to preserve neurological functioning, and to prolong survival. The diagnosis of liver cancer is often neglected in the differential diagnosis of MSCC. Treatment is usually palliative and evolution is often fatal. This is a case report of a 28-year-old patient living in Mauritania hospitalized in November 2014 at the neurology department of Fann national teaching hospital in Dakar, for the management of a chronic dorsal spinal cord compression. The radiological and laboratory investigations done revealed the metastatic compression originating from a liver cancer with elevated alpha-fetoprotein and aspartate transaminase, positive hepatitis B surface antigen, and multiple metastasis in the lungs, mediastinum, ribs, iliac, and peritoneum. The hip joint X-ray showed a spontaneous fracture of the right femoral neck. The multidisciplinary treatment was palliative and the evolution was fatal within the month of hospitalization. Earlier diagnosis and treatment of MSCC may not have saved the life of the patient but may have prevented much suffering and would likely have prolonged the life of a young man.