Primary hepatic choriocarcinoma: a rare cause of spontaneous haemoperitoneum in an adult

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma is a beta human chorionic gonadotrophin secreting neoplasm pertinent to uterus and pregnancy mostly. It occurs primarily in gonads but rarely in extragonadal sites. Primary hepatic choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare tumor. Most of the reported cases are seen in infants representing metastasis from an occult placental choriocarcinoma. Till date, only 7 cases of primary hepatic choriocarcinoma in adults have been reported in literature. We present a case of a 40-yearold male presenting as haemoperitoneum due to ruptured hepatic tumor. He underwent emergency left lateral segmentectomy. He died on 10th postoperative day. The surgical specimen and autopsy findings confirmed it to be primary hepatic choriocarcinoma. This is the first case report from Indian Subcontinent. A brief case report and review of literature is presented.

Keywords

• choriocarcinoma
• liver
• haemoperitoneum.