1 Department of Radiology, S. Salvatore Hospital, L’Aquila, Italy
2 Medical Oncology Unit,” St. Salvatore” Hospital, L’Aquila, Italy
3 Department of Applied Clinical Science and Biotechnology, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy
4 Medical Oncology Unit, “St. Salvatore” Hospital, Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy
Abstract
Chemotherapy is associated with different patterns of histopathological changes of the non-tumor-bearing liver. Hepatic infarction represents a relatively rare condition; the prevalence in several series of consecutive autopsies is 1.1%. To the best of our knowledge, no cases of liver infarction secondary to chemotherapy have been reported to date. We report a case of segmental hepatic infarction following the adjuvant chemotherapy with Oxaliplatin and Capecitabine in a patient who had undergone total gastrectomy and distal esophagectomy for gastric cancer. Liver infarction is usually managed by conservative therapy; interventional procedures such as percutaneous imaging-guided drainage or surgical evacuation should be reserved in cases where septic complications occur, with development of a hepatic abscess from the necrotic area. It is important to avoid misdiagnoses with liver metastases in order to define the most appropriate clinical management strategy.
Keywords
- Adjuvant chemotherapy
- Gastric cancer
- Liver infarction
- Hepatic necrosis
