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A case of diffuse-type primary hepatic lymphoma mimicking diffuse hepatocellular carcinoma

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Abstract

Primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL) is a very rare disease, especially in the diffuse type. We report a case of a middle-aged man with hepatitis C virus infection who developed diffuse-type PHL mimicking diffuse hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging showed diffusely infiltrated hypovascular lesions throughout the liver, but no intrahepatic portal venous thrombus was observed. Diffusion-weighted imaging and 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/CT, respectively, showed a very low apparent diffusion coefficient value and high FDG uptake. These findings were more suggestive of diffuse-type PHL than diffuse HCC. Liver biopsy examination confirmed a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Systemic staging revealed no evidence of nodal or bone marrow involvement, so PHL was diagnosed. The patient was treated with chemotherapy and achieved complete remission. We suggest that a combination of image modalities may enable differentiation of diffuse-type PHL from diffuse HCC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PET Imaging Center, Koga Hospital 21, 3-3-8 Miyanojin, Kurume, 839-0801, Japan

    Koichiro Kaneko & Tsuyoshi Yoshida

  2. Department of Hematology, Koga Hospital 21, 3-3-8 Miyanojin, Kurume, 839-0801, Japan

    Fumitou Arima

  3. Department of Radiology, Koga Hospital 21, 3-3-8 Miyanojin, Kurume, 839-0801, Japan

    Ken Ono & Junichi Omagari

  4. Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Akihiro Nishie & Hiroshi Honda

Authors
  1. Koichiro Kaneko
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  2. Akihiro Nishie
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  3. Fumitou Arima
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  4. Tsuyoshi Yoshida
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  5. Ken Ono
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  6. Junichi Omagari
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  7. Hiroshi Honda
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Correspondence to Koichiro Kaneko.

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Kaneko, K., Nishie, A., Arima, F. et al. A case of diffuse-type primary hepatic lymphoma mimicking diffuse hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Nucl Med 25, 303–307 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-010-0460-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-010-0460-0

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