Benign and Malignant Vascular Tumors of the Liver in Adults

Abstract

Vascular tumors of the liver in adult patients include cavernous hemangioma, a common benign tumor; epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a rare, usually low-grade malignant tumor; and angiosarcoma, a rare and very aggressive tumor. All these primary mesenchymal tumors develop on a normal liver and may also affect other organs. Their pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Hepatic tumors are increasingly detected incidentally due to widespread use of modern abdominal imaging techniques. Therefore, reliable noninvasive characterization and differentiation of such liver tumors is of major importance for clinical practice. Hemangioma follows a benign course, and a nonoperative approach for the majority of these lesions is recommended. A definitive diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and angiosarcoma requires histopathologic examination. Liver transplantation at an early stage has greatly improved the prognosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. The prognosis of angiosarcoma remains dismal. Designing a worldwide database that contains all data about patients with these rare diseases is recommended.

Primary and Metastatic Tumours of the Liver: Expanding Scope of Morphological and Immunohistochemical Details in the Biopsy

“…Haemangioma is defined as benign endothelial tumour [102]. Due to bleeding risk, it is only rarely seen in liver biopsy; in addition, the possibilities of radiological diagnostics are good and the prognosis only rarely necessitates active treatment.…”

Hepatic artery embolization for treating giant hemangioma of liver: an experience from a tertiary level hospital in India

“…2 Surgical liver resection or enucleation are effective curative treatment for giant haemangiomas, however considering the risk of massive intraoperative bleeding and following shock, surgery should be considered only for patients with established complications, diagnostic uncertainty and incapacitating symptoms, where operative risk is acceptable. Endovascular management in the form of trans-arterial embolization (TAE) is offered in cases of symptomatic haemangiomas, unresectable haemangiomas i.e., involving both lobes, as a pre-operative temporizing procedure in ruptured hemangiomas, in diffuse hemangiomatosis, in progressively growing hemangiomas and those at high risk of bleeding.…”

Recurrent giant hemangiomas of liver: Report of two rare cases with literature review

“…Hemangiomas are the most common hepatic neoplasm, occurring in up to 7% of population [1] . They occur at all ages, but are most frequently seen in women in the third to fifth decades of life.…”

“…The natural history of hepatic hemangiomas (HHs) is variable. They can regress, have thrombosis, scarring (sclerosed hemangioma), or calcification [1] . Tumor recurrence after liver resection is extremely rare and the underlying mechanism is still poorly understood.…”