Médecine interne: libre accès
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An Unusual Case: Gastric Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

An Unusual Case: Gastric Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Introduction: Gastrointestinal tract involvement of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare entity with a poor prognosis and can occur via hematogenous route or direct invasion. Here we report a case with de novo HCC after liver transplantation who had rising alfa-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and was found to have gastric metastases incidentally. Case: A 62 year old man underwent liver transplantation with a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma Three years after the liver transplantation, bone and liver metastasis developed and palliative treatment plan was made. During follow-up AFP levels began to rise subsequently and computed tomography of chest and abdomen revealed stable liver lesions and a suspicious gastric luminal nodule. Upper endoscopy showed polypoid lesions in stomach and the pathology of the biopsies taken from these lesions were consistent with HCC metastasis. Discussion: Patterns of metastases in patients with recurrent HCC after liver transplantation might be different. Immunsuppressive treatment in transplant patients might have a negative effect on disease biology and may result in more disseminated disease and atypical sites of metastases as in our case. In patients with rising AFP in the absence of progressive disease on radiologic evaluation, gastrointestinal system metastases via hematogenous route should be kept in mind and upper endoscopy should be considered even in the absence of gastric symptoms, particularly if the presence of extrahepatic disease will change treatment decisions.