Spontaneous regression of liver hemangiomas: a single-institution analysis of 46 patients
Aydin, Oğuzhan a; Acunaş, Bülent b; Poyanli, Arzu b; Rahmi Serin, Kürşat a; İbiş, Cema; Özden, İlgin a
Author Information
European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology: November 2021 - Volume 33 - Issue 11 - p 1436-1440
doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000002069
Departments of a General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Unit)
b Radiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
Received 27 August 2020 Accepted 18 November 2020
Correspondence to Oğuzhan Aydin, MD, İstanbul Faculty of Medicine, Millet Caddesi-Çapa-Şehremini, Istanbul University, İstanbul 34390, Turkey, Tel/fax: +90 (212) 635 30 82; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study was to determine the nature of spontaneous regression of liver hemangiomas.
Patients and methods
The records of the liver hemangioma patients who attended the outpatient clinic between 1988 and 2018 were evaluated. The data of the 716 adult patients who were followed for at least 3 years with cross-sectional imaging were analyzed.
Results
Spontaneous regression was documented in 46 patients (6.4%). Twenty-eight patients had a single hemangioma (61%), eight (17%) had two hemangiomas; the other 10 patients had 3–6 hemangiomas. Of the 87 lesions in 46 patients, 69 actually regressed during the study. Twelve patients with more than one lesion exhibited discordant courses – one of the hemangiomas of a patient with multiple lesions regressed, whereas the other enlarged or remained stable. Eleven of the regressed hemangiomas exhibited enlargement first, followed by spontaneous regression. Fourteen (20%) of the regressed hemangiomas acquired atypical characteristics that would have suggested a malignancy had the original films been unavailable.
Conclusion