A Case Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Spontaneous Regression?
Chiesara, F., Spagnolo, A., Koch, M., & Moretti, A. (2014). A case of hepatocellular carcinoma: spontaneous regression?. Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, 46(7), 659–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2014.02.007
View Original Source →Abstract
A Chinese patient with documented hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) satisfied the criteria of Everson and Cole for spontaneous regression of malignant tumors. Subsequently he survived a tumor-free period of at least 13 years. During the period of regression, shrinkage of liver coincided with a rise of SGOT to a level comparable to that reported for patients with liver cancer during hepatic arterial ligation and cytotoxic therapy. Postregression liver biopsy from the site of the previous tumor revealed relatively uninflamed HBsAg-positive tissue without dysplasia. The case provided the positive end of the survival spectrum in HCC, evidence that regression of HCC might occur by involution rather than maturation, and histologic data suggesting that regressed HCC might be replaced by surrounding tissue instead of leaving behind dysplasia.
Case Details
Disease Location
Liver
Personal Characteristics
65-year-old caucasian man with a his- tory of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Clinical Characteristics
Showed a multifocal hcc characterized by a main lesion located in segment vi of about 9.5 cm in diameter with central necrosis and periph- eral satellite nodules and other multiple lesions with typical hcc radiological features disseminated in both lobes, between a few mm and 1.5 cm in diameter. Hcc and liver cirrhosis were histologically confirmed.
Remission Characteristics
After six months a CT scan showed a marked reduction in size of the major lesion from 9.5 cm to 3.3 cm and a substantial reduc- tion of the number of the other smaller lesions. Six months later fur- ther improvement of the radiological findings was observed: the main nodular lesion was 2.5cm and only three satellite lesions unchanged in size were observed one year later the patient was symptom- free and a CT scan showed the main lesion reduced to 2.2 cm and only one satellite nodule.
Treatment & Mechanisms
Proposed Remission Mechanisms
Possible mechanisms include the use of herbal medicine (aa), ischaemic and inflammatory processes
Clinical Treatment
Non-specific supportive therapy
Non-Clinical Treatment
The patient began self-administering a mixture of aloe arborescens (aa) of his own initiative