Significant regression of a cavernous hepatic hemangioma to a sclerosed hemangioma over 12 years: a case study

Abstract

A sixties woman was found to have diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography with a tumor in the left lobe of the liver and was referred to our institution in 1998. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a typical, 70×45mm cavernous hemangioma, which was followed up by annual MRI. In 2006, 8 years after the initial diagnosis, the MRI showed that the tumor had reduced to 30×15mm. Although atypical of hemangioma, review of the annual observations indicated a diagnosis of regressive hemangioma, which also accorded with clinical observations. In 2009, a liver biopsy was performed by laparotomy during gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Pathological examination of the biopsy revealed sclerosed hemangioma tissue, confirming the diagnosis of regression of a cavernous hemangioma to a sclerosed hemangioma over 12 years.