B. Piatti et al., FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA RESEMBLING NEUROENDOCRINE TUMOR - A CASE-REPORT, Acta cytologica, 41(2), 1997, pp. 583-586
BACKGROUND: The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is steadil
y increasing in western countries. Its present incidence in Italy is a
bout 6.9/100,000. The diagnosis is usually made by a combination of ul
trasound (US), computed tomography (CT) and fine needle aspiration bio
psy (FNAB). HCC resembling a neuroendocrine tumor has been described,
but no previous FNAB diagnosis was reported. CASE: An asymptomatic 45-
year-old man underwent a CT scan after incidental US detection of mult
iple focal lesions in both lobes of the liver. FNAB showed clusters of
small neoplastic cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and scanty cytoplas
m. A thin tissue cove showed a microacinar pattern very similar to tha
t of a neuroendocrine tumor. A large panel of specific antibodies disp
layed an immunophenotype consistent with HCC. CONCLUSION: In this rare
variant of HCC, the final diagnosis could be assessed only by correla
ting the cytologic, microhistologic and immunohistochemical features.