Percutaneous treatment versus hepatic resection for the treatment of small hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the first liver tumor worldwide. Therefore, it is a matter of debate whether surgical treatment or percutaneous treatment should be preferred for the treatment of patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of our study was to compare the long-term outcome and the survival between surgically and percutaneously treated small hepatocellular carcinomas. A retrospective study was performed in the department of hepatology during a period of 2009-2012. The study included all patients carrying small hepatocellular carcinoma which were divided in: group 1 including patients who underwent surgical treatment, and group 2 including patients who underwent percutaneous treatment. Among the 63 patients who were diagnosed for hepatocellular carcinoma, 28 carried a small hepatocellular carcinoma with a mean age of 63 years and sex-ratio of 0.64. Etiology of cirrhosis was viral in 96% cases. Surgical treatment [hepatic resection] was performed in 54% cases while percutaneous treatment was proposed for 46%: radiofrequency ablation in 69% and alcoholic injection in 31%. No major complications for both surgical and percutaneous treatment occurred in our study. The corresponding 6 months and 1- year overall survival rates for the surgical resection group and the percutaneous treatment group were 100%, 100%, 20%, and 52%, respectively [p=0,04]. The disease free survival were not significantly different. Our results showed the efficacy and safety of percutaneous ablation treatments [radiofrequency ablation and ethanol injection] in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas with concomitant Bochdalek's hernia. the first reported case

Solid pseudopapillary tumors of the pancreas are rare. The diagnosis is difficult because of its clinical and radiological polymorphism. It was described in the literature that this entity can be associated with congenital malformation. We report an exceptional case associating solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas to Bochdalek's hernia. A 31 year-old woman presented with abdominal pain. Radiological findings [ultrasound, CT scan, MRI] showed a heterogeneous mass evoking a stromal tumor of duodenal origin associated to a hernia through the foramen of Bochdalek. The patient underwent tumorectomy without lymphadenectomy with a hernia repair. Pathology report confirmed the diagnosis of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. The 3-years follow- up was uneventful. Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas is a rare benign tumor with a good prognosis after resection. Recognition of the association of congenital malformation with solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas is useful as it could have implications on the diagnosis and treatment