Benign hepatic tumours and tumour like conditions in men.

TLDR

Benign hepatic tumours and tumour‑like conditions were identified in 52 % of 95 men aged 35‑69 in a consecutive medicolegal necropsy series. Incidence rose with age mainly due to small bile‑duct tumours, while cavernous hemangiomas were common but age‑independent; focal nodular hyperplasia occurred in younger men, multiple bile‑duct tumours were present in 46 % and hemangiomas in 50 %, and incidental adenoma, regenerative hyperplasia, and peliosis were found, with regenerative hyperplasia linked to alcohol and testosterone, underscoring that such lesions are common yet often missed because of their small size.

Abstract

In a consecutive medicolegal necropsy series benign hepatic tumours and tumour like conditions occurred in 52% of the 95 men aged 35-69 years. The incidence increased with age, mainly due to small bile duct tumours (n = 26; mean age 56.7 years; p less than 0.01; mean size 1.3 mm). The next most common tumours were cavernous hemangiomas (n = 19; mean age 53.9 years; mean size 5.2 mm) that were not related to age. Focal nodular hyperplasia (n = 3; mean size 8.0 mm) tended to occur in a younger age group (mean age 40.3 years; p less than 0.001). Multiple bile duct tumours were present in 46% and hemangiomas in 50% of the men studied. Liver cell adenoma, nodular regenerative hyperplasia, and peliosis hepatis were incidental findings (one case of each). Nodular regenerative hyperplasia was associated with the consumption of alcohol and a total dose of 21.5 g of testosterone. These results indicate that benign hepatic tumours and tumour like conditions are not rare in men but may remain undetected because of their small size.