Hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor misinterpretated as hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare benign disease, but may develop in various organs.1 IPT that develops in the liver is very rare, and often accompanied by fever, malaise, and abdominal pain. IPT can be mistaken for malignant tumor such as cholangiocarcinoma or liver abscess due to lack of characteristic clinical and radiological features to suggest its diagnosis.1-4 Especially, IPT can be a vascular-rich tumor demonstrating radiological findings similar to those of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).5 If a patient with an IPT has risk factors for HCC such as chronic viral hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, the lesion may misdiagnosed as an HCC, only to be confirmed by biopsy or surgery.5,6