Bone metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma: need for reappraisal of treatment

Abstract

Bone is an uncommon site of metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and often overlooked. We report two cases that had isolated bone metastasis; one of them had prolonged disease-free survival. The present series, along with the literature review, reinforces the idea that HCC should be considered in the differential diagnoses in patients presenting with metastases in bone. The presence of isolated bone metastases need not necessarily indicate poor prognosis, and all such patients need to be offered chemotherapy and at least one of the bone-directed therapies (either local radiation in cases of localized disease or bisphosphonates in the presence of extensive disease) as they may have a better outcome with therapy.