Spontaneous regression of hepatocellular carcinoma in a Caucasian male patient: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary hepatic cancer. As it often presents at an advanced stage, it generally has a poor prognosis. Spontaneous regression is a rare finding in HCC, and is often associated with tumour ischemia or a systemic inflammatory response. We herein present the case of a Caucasian patient with spontaneous regression of advanced HCC, not associated with either mechanism. Our patient was a 74-year old Caucasian male who presented with advanced biopsy-proven HCC, with α-fetoprotein levels of >16,600 kU/l. On computed tomography examination, multiple metastases were identified. Due to the poor performance status and as the patient declined treatment, he was referred to a general practitioner for supportive palliative care. Six months later, the patient was alive and feeling well. He had suffered a cerebrovascular accident with ensuing partial hemiparesis, and had been initiated on enalapril, furosemide and curcumin. On re-evaluation, the lung lesions had disappeared, whereas both the liver and peritoneal lesions had decreased in size. Following a review of the literature, the conclusion was that this case of spontaneous regression of advanced HCC was not caused by ischemia, inflammation, or any other previously reported mechanism. Further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying spontaneous regression of HCC.

Keywords: European Continental Ancestry Group; case report; curcumin; hepatocellular carcinoma; spontaneous regression.

Figure 1.

Initial computed tomography images showing a suspicious hepatic lesion and a lesion appearing to be malignant anterior to the pericardium (arrows).

Figure 2.

Follow-up computed tomography images at 6 months after initial diagnosis. The liver had significantly decreased in size. The suspicious hepatic lesion and the lesion anterior to the pericardium had also significantly decreased in size (arrows).

Figure 3.

Decrease in serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and gamma-glutamyl transferase (G-GT) levels over time.