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Hepatic hemangiomas: the various imaging avatars and its mimickers

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Abstract

Hemangiomas are the most common benign tumors of the liver. These lesions are typically asymptomatic, solitary and almost always discovered incidentally, and in recent years with advances in imaging technology these lesions are being detected more frequently. Although, in majority of the cases, the imaging diagnosis of a liver hemangioma is clearly and confidently established, not all hemangiomas present with their characteristic or typical appearance on imaging. Occasionally, these lesions do present with an atypical pattern, and can be confused with other malignant lesions such as hepatocellular carcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, mixed hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma and angiosarcoma. In this article, we review with illustrations the diverse imaging appearances of hemangiomas on the commonly used imaging modalities, as well as provide a gamut of common and uncommonly encountered hemangioma mimickers. Knowledge of the various atypical avatars of this benign lesion is important and can help one circumvent diagnostic errors, thereby potentially avoiding unnecessary surgeries.

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  1. Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, 8440 112 St NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada

    Rishi Philip Mathew, Medica Sam, Monique Raubenheimer, Vimal Patel & Gavin Low

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Mathew, R.P., Sam, M., Raubenheimer, M. et al. Hepatic hemangiomas: the various imaging avatars and its mimickers. Radiol med 125, 801–815 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-020-01185-z

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