A Case of Inflammatory Pseudotumour Masquerading as Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cureus. 2023 Sep 25;15(9):e45897. doi: 10.7759/cureus.45897. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Inflammatory pseudotumors (IPTs) of the liver can mimic malignant lesions. As the name implies, they are usually associated with an inflammatory process and usually regress with the treatment of the underlying pathology. We report a case of a 67-year-old female who presented with right upper quadrant pain, deranged liver enzymes, elevated tumor markers [alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and CA 19-9], and a large liver mass on imaging, suspected to be hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). She was eventually diagnosed with IPT complicating the liver inflammation due to autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). She responded well to treatment with steroids and immunosuppressive therapy.

Keywords: autoimmune hepatitis; hepatocellular carcinoma; igg4 related disease; inflammatory pseudotumour; tumour markers.

Publication types

  • Case Reports