Infantile hemangioendothelioma with elevated serum α fetoprotein: report of 2 cases with immunohistochemical analysis

Kim, Tae-Jung; Lee, Youn Soo; Song, Young Soo; Park, Chan Kum; Shim, Sang In; Kang, Chang Suk; Lee, Kyo-Young

doi:10.1016/j.humpath.2009.05.019

« Previous Next »Human Pathology
Volume 41, Issue 5 , Pages 763-767, May 2010

Infantile hemangioendothelioma with elevated serum α fetoprotein: report of 2 cases with immunohistochemical analysis

Tae-Jung Kim, MD, PhD
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 150-713 Seoul, Korea
Youn Soo Lee, MD, PhD
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 150-713 Seoul, Korea
- Corresponding author.
Young Soo Song, MD
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, 133-792 Seoul, Korea
Chan Kum Park, MD, PhD
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, 133-792 Seoul, Korea
Sang In Shim, MD, PhD
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 150-713 Seoul, Korea
Chang Suk Kang, MD, PhD
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 150-713 Seoul, Korea
Kyo-Young Lee, MD, PhD
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 150-713 Seoul, Korea

Received 6 March 2009; received in revised form 23 April 2009; accepted 13 May 2009. published online 15 February 2010.

Summary

Infantile hemangioendothelioma is the most common benign mesenchymal tumor of the liver presenting during the first 6 months of life. Serum α fetoprotein is an important tumor marker for hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and germ cell tumors. However, it is rarely elevated in patients with hepatic infantile hemangioendothelioma. In such cases, surgery may be done to rule out malignancies when α fetoprotein levels are high. The etiology of the elevated α fetoprotein level has not yet been elucidated. We report 2 cases of solitary hepatic infantile hemangioendothelioma and demonstrate immunohistochemically that hepatocytes near or entrapped within the tumor were the source of the increased serum levels of α fetoprotein explaining the unusual clinical presentation.

Keywords: Infantile hemangioendothelioma, α fetoprotein, Hepatoblastoma, Liver