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Multiple hypervascular liver nodules in a heavy drinker of alcohol
Author(s) -
KIM SOO RYANG,
MAEKAWA YOKO,
NINOMIYA TOSHIAKI,
IMOTO SUSUMU,
MATSUOKA TOSHIYUKI,
ANDO KENJI,
MITA KEIJI,
KU KWANSONG,
KOTERAZAWA TOSHIHIRO,
NAKAJIMA TAISUKE,
FUKUDA KATSUMI,
YANO YOSHIHIKO,
NAKAJI MIYUKI,
KUDO MASATOSHI,
KIM KE IH,
HIRAI MIDORI,
HAYASHI YOSHITAKE
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2005.03244.x
Subject(s) - hypervascularity , medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , pathology , fibrosis , radiology , nodule (geology) , pseudolymphoma , magnetic resonance imaging , angiography , lymphoma , paleontology , biology
A case of hypervascular nodules in the liver, but without hepatitis B or C virus infection in a 38‐year‐old woman with a history of alcohol abuse is presented. An ultrasound disclosed 1–2‐cm hypoechoic tumors in the right and left lobes. Magnetic resonance imaging showed high‐intensity tumors at both the T1‐weighted and T2‐weighted sequences. Incremental dynamic computed tomography and hepatic angiography revealed hypervascular tumors. Ultrasound‐guided needle biopsy revealed no evidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, metastatic liver cancer, hemangioendothelioma, inflammatory pseudotumors or pseudolymphoma, but demonstrated stellate‐scar fibrosis septa, which contained small unpaired arteries without hyperplasia dividing the nodule. Moreover, marked pericellular fibrosis, neutrophilic infiltration and Mallory bodies were observed in the cytoplasm. There was no evidence of bile duct proliferation. From these findings, the diagnosis of alcohol‐induced fibrosis, distinctly different from focal nodular hyperplasia, was tenable. Further studies may provide insights into the pathogenesis of nodule formation and hypervascularity in heavy drinkers of alcohol.