Anaerobic liver abscess and intrahepatic metastases: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

A patient is described in whom the first recurrence of a cloacogenic carcinoma of the rectum was an intrahepatic metastasis associated with an hepatic abscess caused by the anaerobic bacterium Peptococcus prevotii. Three previously reported cases of infection associated with hepatic tumor nodules have been found in which bacteriologic data were provided, and in all three cases anaerobic bacteria were the primary or only infection organisms. Experimental data exist which document the ability of certain anaerobic bacteria to grow selectively in tumor nodules, but not in the normal tissues of a tumor-bearing host. Since 23% of patients with liver metastases have fever and offer a clinical picture compatible with infection, occult anaerobic infection associated with liver metastases may be more common than previously recognized.