Hepatic inflammatory lesions manifested as a pseudotumor. Report of two cases with different characteristics

We report two surgical cases of inflammatory conditions of the liver that, on imaging studies, closely resembled a neoplasm. Under the diagnoses of hepatic malignant neoplasms, both patients underwent hepatic resections. Histologically, one case was found to be a hepatic xanthogranuloma (an inflammatory pseudotumor) that consisted of foamy histiocytes, plasma cells, lymphocytes, and fibroblasts, while the other case was found to be an epithelioid cell granuloma with a central area of coagulative necrosis. Although their exact pathogenesis remained obscure, cholangitis in the former case and tuberculosis in the latter were assumed to be possible causal factors. Special attention should be paid to these unusual conditions in terms of the differential diagnosis of hepatic mass lesions.