Spontaneous remission of hepatocellular carcinoma without any treatment

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major leading cause of cancer death in Taiwan. The prognosis will be fatal without treatment. However, about 80 cases of the rare phenomenon of spontaneous remission of HCC have been reported in the English literature. A 61 year old asymptomatic woman visited our outpatient clinic (OPC) with a high alpha-fetal protein (AFP) level. A computed tomogram (CT) revealed a 4.1 cm hypervascular tumor (arterial phase) at S4 of the liver and washed out in venous phase. Her Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) was negative and Hepatitis C Antibody (anti-HCV) was positive. This patient also had esophageal varices. She refused any treatment and returned to our OPC about 2 years later. Her AFP level was 11.8 ng/ml. The following CT scan revealed a small amount of cirrhosis, but no mass, in the liver, so that spontaneous remission of HCC was determined. She was treated by oral diuretics. Here we report the case and review of literature.

Keywords

• Spontaneous regression
• Hepatocellular carcinoma