[Splenic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma]

It is known that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently metastasises to various organs, but metastasis to the spleen is quite rare. We experienced two cases of splenic metastasis of HCC revealed by ultrasonography (US) or computed tomography (CT) and confirmed by autopsy. We report the morphological characteristics of the US or CT findings in these two cases. The first patient was a 68-year-old woman who was admitted with the chief complaint of abdominal fullness. US revealed a hypoechoic lesion in the liver and spleen. She died of hepatic failure about a month later, and splenic metastasis of HCC was confirmed by autopsy. The second patient was a 61-year-old man who was admitted with the chief complaint of swelling a cervical lymph nodes. US showed a mosaic pattern of a mass lesion in the spleen. The patient died of hepatic failure about two weeks later, and metastasis of HCC to the spleen was confirmed by autopsy.