Frequency of tumor entities among liver tumors of unclear etiology initially detected by sonography in the noncirrhotic or cirrhotic livers of 1349 patients. Results of the DEGUM multicenter study

Abstract

Aim: Investigation of the frequency of various solid focal liver lesions (SFLL) in noncirrhotic and cirrhotic livers with focus on the frequency of metastasis in cirrhotic livers.

Material and methods: The patient collective in the DEGUM multicenter study (n = 1349) was reevaluated and divided in subcollective A without (n = 1067) and B with cirrhosis (n = 282). 74.6 % of the various tumor entities were confirmed histologically (n = 1006).

Results: In subcollective A there were 385 patients with metastases (36.4 %) and 65 with HCC (6.1 %), whereas the most common benign lesions were hemangioma, with 237 cases (22.4 %) and FNH, with 170 cases (16.1 %). In subcollective B there were 216 cases of HCC (76.6 %) and 12 metastases (4.3 %), as well as 42 benign lesions (14.9 %). CCC was rare in both subcollective A (3.3 %) and subcollective B (2.5 %). A positive oncological history increased the probability of a malignant SFLL in subcollective A by 1.8 times, but did not do so in subcollective B.

Conclusion: The frequency of various tumor entities is different in patients with and without cirrhosis of the liver. In noncirrhotic livers, malignant and benign SFLL are equally common. The most common forms are metastases, hemangiomas and FNH, CCC is rare. A positive history of extrahepatic malignancy increases the probability of a malignant SFLL. In cirrhosis, HCC dominates, HCC is 18 times as common as metastases. Benign SFLL and CCC are rare.