Related Experiment Videos
Transient liver accumulation of Tc-99m phytate in hepatocellular carcinoma after percutaneous ethanol injection
1Third Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Japan.
Purpose:
We report that colloid liver scanning gave early evidence of the return to normal of Kupffer cell functions after ethanol injections into the liver.
Patient And Methods:
A 71-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma received percutaneous ethanol injections twice of 15 mL of ethanol, 1 week apart.
Results:
Abdominal CT after the second injection showed an irregularly shaped low-density area in the left side of the tumor, extending outside the tumor. Liver imaging with To-99m phytate 10 days later showed increased activity at the corresponding site. Thirty days after the second injection, liver imaging did not show high activity.
Conclusions:
Ethanol that leaked into the normal part of the liver probably temporarily activated Kupffer cell function.