Tumour seeding following percutaneous needle biopsy of hepatocellular carcinoma
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Abstract
We report a hepatocellular carcinoma seeding following needle biopsy in a 57-year-old man who first presented with a focal hepatic lesion at another hospital. The patient had been a hepatitis B carrier for 20 years. Initial surveillance ultrasonography showed a lesion in segment IV, in the background of non-cirrhotic liver and normal serum alpha-foetoprotein level (8 ng/ml). A percutaneous needle biopsy was done and histopathology confirmed well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. The patient had refused surgery and preferred to try traditional medicine. He presented to us four months after the initial biopsy with epigastric swelling. This was found to be due to a tumour seeding along the previous biopsy tract. He was given radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of tumour along the needle tract, in addition to the primary tumour. We conclude that the need for percutaneous needle biopsy should be critically evaluated in patients presenting with focal hepatic lesions and the role of RFA in treating tumour seeding needs further evaluation.
Keywords
Cancer
Divisions
fac_med
Publication Title
Singapore Medical Journal
Volume
49
Issue
1
Publisher
Stamford Publishing Pte Ltd / Singapore Medical Association
Additional Information
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur 50503, Malaysia.