Pathology-Confirmed Granuloma Mimicking Liver Metastasis of Breast Cancer

Abstract

For patients with breast cancer, obtaining tissue samples from liver lesion becomes more and more important for both differential diagnosis and subsequent treatment. However, the procedure is not considered as mandatory routine and is not frequently performed. We here reported about a patient with breast cancer history and a solitary liver metastasis that was clinically diagnosed by both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and position emission tomography - computed tomography (PET-CT). However, pathologic diagnosis after partial hepatectomy (between sections VII and VIII) revealed multifocal granulomas. The case further addresses the importance of core needle biopsy, or surgical biopsy, for obtainment of a histological diagnosis, especially in the presence of a solitary lesion, even when the lesion has a typical medical imaging supporting metastasis, and uptake of radioactive 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) by PET-CT.