Abstract

Erwa Elmakki

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of liver malignancy. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either viral hepatitis (hepatitis B, C) or alcoholic cirrhosis, however liver cirrhosis due to any other causes is considered as a risk factor for development of HCC. HCC in a young patient with no cirrhosis or fibrosis is a relatively rare condition. The present case report describes a young male (24-year-old) patient who presented with a 2-months history of fever, right upper quadrant abdominal pain and weight loss with no evidence of pre-existing liver disease, initially treated as liver abscess, however his CT abdomen with intravenous contrast showed numerous heterogeneous hepatic hypodensities many with ring enhancement, serum alphafetoprotein level found to be very high (>1000ng/l) and histological studies confirmed the presence of HCC. The present case findings suggest that mutltifocal HCC can occur in a young patient without having an apparent risk factors and clinical presentation of HCC can be similar to liver abscess.