Sudden and unexpected death in childhood due to an undiagnosed hepatoblastoma: Case report and review of literature

Abstract

The sudden and unexpected death of an infant or child due to cancer is a particularly rare event. Most of the cases concern primary growths located in vital organs such as the heart or the brain. Only in an extremely small number of cases does it occur in infants or children affected by liver cancer. Herein we report the sudden and unexpected death of a 3-and-a-half-year-old infant, who due to an undiagnosed tumor of the liver, namely hepatoblastoma, suffered a major intra-abdominal (hemoperitoneum) bleed, leading to a fatal hemorrhagic trauma. In cases like these, it is of utmost importance to carry out both an autopsy as well as complete histological tests in order to determine if the hepatic tumor is the real cause of death or if it was a mere chance finding. In the case of sudden and unexplained deaths in infancy and childhood, the forensic pathologist should always consider that other complications, for example, those correlated with hepatoblastoma could, in fact, cause sudden death given that this particular tumor is often scarcely symptomatic and can remain undiscovered for a long period of time.

Keywords: Abdominal bleed; Children; Forensic pathology; Hepatoblastoma; Unexpected death.