Brain Metastasis from Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Radical Hepatectomy

Asahara Toshimasa

Yano Masatsugu

Fukuda Saburo

Fukuda Toshikatsu

Nakahara Hideki

Katayama Koji

Itamoto Toshiyuki

Dohi Kiyohiko

Nakanishi Toshio

Kitamoto Mikiya

Azuma Kazuyoshi

Ito Katsuhide

Moriwaki Katsuyuki

Yuge Osafumi

Shimamoto Fumio

Hiroshima Journal of Medical Sciences

[PISSN] 0018-2052

[EISSN] 2433-7668

[NCID] AA00664312

Brain metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare, yet perplexing problem in patients with cancer. We report on 5 patients with metastasis of HCC to the brain after radical hepatectomy. Intrahepatic recurrence occurred in 3 patients, and distant metastasis to sites other than the brain was observed in 3 patients (lung, 2; bone, 1). The symptoms for brain metastasis included headache, hemiparesis, and vomiting. Hemorrhage was found in 4 of 5 patients. All patients had a single nodular lesion in the brain. The alpha-fetoprotein levels were more than 10,000 ng/ml in 4 patients. Two patients underwent surgical resection, 1 received cranial irradiation, and 2 were administered corticosteroids. The interval between diagnosis of the primary cancer and detection of brain metastasis ranged from 2 to 54 months. The mean survival period was only 3 months after diagnosis of brain metastasis. All 5 patients died of neurologic causes. Because no effective treatment for brain metastasis from HCC is available, further study is needed.

Hepatocellular carcinoma

Brain metastasis

Hepatectomy

Medical sciences [ 490 ]

eng

Hiroshima University Medical Press

[ISSN] 0018-2052

[NCID] AA00664312