Spontaneous regression of inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver : a case report

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver is a rare benign mass that is often misdiagnosed as hepatocellu- lar carcinoma or hepatic abcess. It is a benign entity of unknown origin : etiology and pathogenesis remain unclear, but it is speculated that this tumour is a reactive inflammatory condition (1). The lesion is characterized by encapsulated pro- liferating connective tissue admixed with lymphocytes, macrophages and granular leukocytes (2). Clinical pre- sentation and morphological appearance may vary (3,4). Different kind of treatment have been proposed. In the vast majority of the cases, a surgical excision has been performed and in other cases a conservative treatment (antibiotics or steroids) has been given (1,5). However, the need to treat this lesion has not been fully demon- strated and until now, only few cases of spontaneous regression have been recently described (6-9). The purpose of this report is to present a new case of inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver regressing spon- taneously.