RESUMO
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a useful palliative therapeutic modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Postembolization syndromes, such as fever, abdominal pain, and elevated liver enzyme levels are commonly known complications of TACE. One post-TACE pulmonary complication, lipiodol pneumonitis, is rarely reported. Lipiodol pneumonitis after TACE appears to be associated with chemical injury due to accidental perfusion of lipiodol to the lung vasculature, promoted by arteriovenous shunts within the hypervascular HCC. Here, we report a 42-year-old man with unresectable HCC and hepatic vein thrombosis. The patient was initially treated with TACE. The following day after TACE, acute respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea and cough developed with decreased oxygen saturation. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed multiple patches and diffuse ground-glass opacities in both lung fields, suggesting of lipiodol pneumonitis. The patient’s condition and radiologic abnormalities subsequently improved after 2 weeks of conservative treatment alone.
RESUMO
Although surgical resection is a curative treatment option for solitary hepatocellular carcinoma, high recurrence rate contributes to dismal long-term prognosis after curative resection. Early recurrence within 2 years after surgery is associated with intrahepatic metastasis of primary tumor. Liver regeneration after hepatic resection can accelerate tumorigenesis in remnant liver. Treatment strategies for intrahepatic recurrence after curative resection include salvage transplantation, repeated resection, local ablation, and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Here, we report a 51-year-old male who was presented with a single large tumor located at segment 4. The patient was initially treated with surgical resection, but intrahepatic recurrence occurred only 4 months after surgery. He achieved complete remission with repeated TACE and has survived without recurrence for 4 years so far.