Abstract

Background/Aims: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor of the liver. It poses special difficulties for clinicians in its diagnosis and treatment. Its clinical course and prognosis are variable. However, there are only a few case reports in Korea. Therefore we studied the clinical characteristics of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma which had been diagnosed and treated in our hospital. Methods: The clinical, radiological and pathologic characteristics of 5 cases were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The patients included three males and two females and the mean age was 48.6 years. The chief complaints were asymptomatic (4 cases) or abdominal pain (1 case). Blood chemistry test was abnormal in one patient. CT scan showed multiple hypoattenuated masses in the periphery of the liver. Ultrasound-guided liver biopsy was done for all cases. On the immunohistochemical staining, factor Ⅷ was positive in three cases, CD34 was positive in three cases. In the treatment, conservative management was done for all cases. There was no significant disease progression during the follow-up period of 25.4 months. Conclusions: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma presents nonspecific symptoms and shows low grade malignancy and slow disease progression. Radiologic studies such as CT with biopsy may give the clue for the diagnosis.

• Keywords: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma;Factor Ⅷ;CD34