Журнал клинических случаев

A Liver Inflammatory Pseudotumor Misdiagnosed as Liver Cancer Using Noninvasive Diagnostic Methods

Abstract

Jiangfa Li, Junyi Wang, Jianhua Gong, Chunmei Zhou and Songqing He

Background: Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare liver tumor, and is not easy to distinguish from liver cancer in imaging examinations. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of a case of IPT misdiagnosed as liver cancer.

Case Report: A 39-year-old man was hospitalized in February 2014 because of right upper quadrant pain for 7 months. Enhanced multi-detector computed tomography and Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging findings were consistent with malignant liver tumors. The patient had a history of chronic hepatitis B. Therefore, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. However, his physical condition was not suitable for surgery, and he had a history of 2 abdominal surgeries and tested negative for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Thus, we performed a liver biopsy and the histological diagnosis was IPT. The patient avoided interventional therapy, which is the preferred treatment for patients with inoperable primary liver cancer.

Conclusion: IPT should be considered in the differential diagnoses when a mass lesion in the liver is encountered, especially for those patients with a history of infection in the abdomen or abdominal surgery who are AFP-negative. Pathologic examination may be necessary.