Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumour masquerading as a giant haemangioma: an unusual presentation of a rare disease

BMJ Case Rep. 2020 Sep 8;13(9):e236153. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-236153.

Abstract

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumour is an exceedingly rare entity. We hereby delineate the case of a 45-year-old Balti descent woman who hails from a land-locked village situated in the foothills of the Pakistani Himalayas. The patient presented to our medical centre with a hepatic mass. She underwent extensive diagnostic workup. The consistent findings of an abdominal CT scan, coupled with her clinical history, insinuated a preoperative diagnosis of atypical hepatic haemangioma. After a detailed discussion in a multidisciplinary meeting, a standard right hemihepatectomy was performed. She had an uneventful postoperative recovery and was discharged in stable condition after 1 week. Surprisingly, pathological examination and immunohistochemistry of the resected specimen divulged the diagnosis of a grade II primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumour. Her somatostatin-receptor scintigraphy and Gallium-68 DOTATATE positron emission tomography scan excluded residual hepatic or additional body lesions. Regular follow-ups over the past 4 years demonstrated unremarkable radiological findings with no recurrence to date.

Keywords: carcinogenesis; hemangioma; hepatic cancer; surgical oncology.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Hemangioma / diagnosis
  • Hepatectomy / methods
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors / diagnosis
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors / pathology
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors / surgery*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed