Juvenile hemangioendothelioma of the liver.Report of a case and review of the literature

A case of a surgically resected solitary juvenile hemangioendothelioma of the liver is reported. Thirty-two cases with multiple tumors and 4 cases with solitary tumors have been previously described. Only 2 cases with multiple tumors survived. Four of the 5 patients with solitary lesions survived: in these 4 cases, the tumor was surgically resectable. These tumors have occurred in man after injection of Thorotrast, a 20% colloidal solution of thorium dioxide, and in animals after injection of Thorotrast or urethan. In infants, a pathogenesis of this tumor may be a reaction of the hepatic vasculature during fetal development or in early infancy. Solitary lesions can be resected and cured. Multiple lesions may regress spontaneously but have not been amenable to therapy.