Hepatocellular carcinoma metastatic to the orbit: a case report

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma rarely metastasizes to the orbit. We report on a 72-year-old man with a past history of resection for hepatocellular carcinoma and recurrent HCC, who presented with diplopia and left painful proptosis. Head scans revealed a large and irregular mass in the left orbit that caused destruction of the orbital bone superiorly and posterolaterally. A biopsy specimens of the orbital tumor showed features of metastatic foci of hepatocellular carcinoma. The tumor was surgically excised and histological findings revealed moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma, resembling hepatocytes with a tendency to form trabeculae. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells showed positive reaction against low-molecular-weight keratin and α-fetoprotein. There have been only 12 previous cases of hepatocellular carcinoma metastatic to the orbit cited in the literature. We presented here a rare case of hepatocellular carcinoma metastatic to the orbit.