CT findings in hepatoblastoma

Hepatoblastoma is the third most common intraabdominal malignant neoplasm in infants. Computed tomography of six patients with surgically proven hepatoblastoma was reviewed; abnormalities included large, diffuse, or multifocal liver masses with lower attenuation values than normal hepatic parenchyma after contrast enhancement. In three patients, areas of speckled or amorphous calcifications within the tumor were evident on CT, whereas calcification was present on conventional radiography in only one patient. In four of the six infants, CT demonstrated unresectable tumor by virtue of massive pansegmental involvement. Computed tomography is a useful tool for screening patients with suspected hepatoblastoma and for determining the anatomic extent of tumor and thus selecting a group of children for aggressive surgical excision.