Berthet B, Moutardier V, Stein A, Raoult D, Le Treut Y P, Assadourian R
Service de Chirurgie générale et digestive, Hôpital de la Conception, Marseille.
J Chir (Paris). 1994 Jun-Jul;131(6-7):291-5.
When the clinical picture and complementary tests reveal a tumoural formation in the liver suggesting cancer, it is often difficult to diagnose such formations resulting from bacterial infection without surgical exploration. The diagnosis is particularly difficult since exclusive hepatic formations are extremely rare, the latency period is often long and specific markers are often lacking. We observed 3 such cases with local hepatic tumour-like formations due to tuberculosis, brucellosis and actinomycosis. Pathology examination of a liver biopsy can contribute to the diagnosis and avoid unnecessary exploratory laparotomy allowing successful medical treatment.