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[Congenital hepatoblastoma with a rhabdomyoblastic component]
Insights
This study describes a rare congenital hepatoblastoma in an infant, noting early intrauterine metastasis and mixed-type tumor components. The findings suggest a link between fetal exposure to harmful factors and these congenital tumors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Developmental Biology
- Teratology
Background:
- Congenital hepatoblastoma is a rare liver tumor in infants.
- Intrauterine metastasis of hepatoblastoma is exceptionally uncommon.
- Mixed-type tumors suggest a pluripotent origin.
Abstract:
An observation of congenital hepatoblastoma of a mixed type in a baby dying on the 50th day of life is described. The boy was born with a metastasis of the tumour into the left superciliary area. The process of hepatoblastoma metastasising had begun in the intrauterine period. The main and metastatic nodes of the tumour consisted of epithelial and mesenchymal components. The multicomponent structure of the tumour attests to its origin from a pluripotent blastoma like Wilms tumour. In addition to the hepatoblastoma with disseminated metastases the boy had malformations in the liver and kidneys. The combination of hepatoblastoma with congenital malformations appears to be due to the effect on the fetus of some harmful factors in the first trimester of pregnancy (toxicosis, influenza).