Case Report
A Focal Liver Lesion in a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis B and Cirrhosis not always Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Samuel Raimundo Fernandes1*, Joana Rita Carvalho1, Luis Araujo Correia1, Artur Silva2, Cilenia Baldaia1, Helena Cortez-Pinto1 and Jose Velosa1
1Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service, Hospital Santa Maria, Lisbon Hospital Centro North, Portugal
2Pathological Anatomy Service, Hospital Santa Maria, Lisbon Hospital Centro North, Portugal
- Corresponding Author:
- Samuel Raimundo Fernandes
MD, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service
Hospital Santa Maria, Lisbon Hospital Center North, Portugal
Tel: 351968644836
E-mail: Samuelrmfernandes@gmail.com
Received Date: March 08, 2016; Accepted Date: March 21, 2016; Published Date: March 28, 2016
Citation: Fernandes SR, Carvalho JR, Correia LA, Silva A, Baldaia C, et al. (2016) A Focal Liver Lesion in a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis B and Cirrhosis not always Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Gastrointest Dig Syst 6:403. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000403
Copyright: © 2016 Fernandes SR, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis are known risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We present a 68- year old male patient with chronic hepatitis B infection and cirrhosis admitted for investigation of a 10-cm solid liver nodule detected during surveillance ultrasound. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed an additional 3 cm lesion in the right liver lobe and multiple lesions in the spleen without typical features of HCC. Histopathologic examination of the liver nodule biopsy was compatible with metastasis from a neuroendocrine tumor. The patient was referred for chemotherapy but unfortunately died 2 months later from infectious complications. The present case seemed unusual considering that the background chronic liver disease would make HCC a more likely diagnosis. The multiple comorbidities presented by our patient provided an additional challenge by broadening the differential diagnosis.
