Lu Macy, Greer Mary-Louise C
Department of Medical Imaging, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
Pediatr Radiol. 2007 Jun;37(6):587-91. doi: 10.1007/s00247-007-0460-y. Epub 2007 Apr 14.
In this case report we describe a neonate with multifocal hypervascular hepatoblastoma indistinguishable from infantile hemangioendothelioma on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Review of the literature revealed a description of a hypervascular form of solitary hepatoblastoma visualized using sonography and CT. Our case is unique in that it illustrates centripetal fill-in of multifocal hepatoblastoma on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MRI. MRI has several advantages over CT in the characterization and follow-up of neonatal liver tumors. These advantages include the lack of ionizing radiation, as well as an ability to visualize vascular structures that is less dependent upon the timing of contrast material administration. This case further highlights the difficulty in discriminating between infantile hemangioendothelioma and hepatoblastoma in radiology, particularly in a multifocal hypervascular variant of hepatoblastoma.