Hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma is scattered and unsuitable for surgery: a case report

Abstract

Hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma (HEAML) is a rare tumour of mesenchymal tissue with a malignant tendency. Occurring most frequently in women, the relative incidence in men and women, according to incomplete statistics, is approximately 1:5. In rare cases, disease occurrence and development is hidden. Lesions are generally discovered as chance findings by patients; abdominal pain is the first symptom, and imaging has no specificity in diagnosing the disease. Therefore, great difficulties exist in the diagnosis and treatment of HEAML. Here, the case of a 51-year-old female patient with a history of hepatitis B, and abdominal pain over 8 months as the initial symptom, is described. The patient was found to have multiple intrahepatic angiomyolipoma. Due to the small and scattered foci, complete resection was impossible, and because of her history of hepatitis B, conservative treatment was undertaken, with the patient undergoing regular follow-up. When hepatic cell carcinoma could not be excluded, the patient was treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization. No tumour neogenesis or metastasis was detected at the 1-year follow-up.