Spontaneous Regression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma—a Case Report

Excerpt

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in men and the second biggest cause of cancer mortality in the world [1]. Its incidence is particularly high in Asia and South Africa. Spontaneous regression (SR) in cancer has been recognised as a phenomenon for a long time, and documentations exist in medieval texts but formal definition as “the partial or complete disappearance of a malignant tumour in the absence of treatment or in the presence of therapy considered inadequate to exert a significant influence on the disease” was composed by Dr. Tilden Everson and Dr. Warren Cole in the 1960s [2]. SR incidence has been variously estimated to be 1 in 60,000 to 140,000 cases of cancer, although it is practically very difficult to derive evidence-based figures [3]. Approximately 50 % of the reported cases are renal cell carcinoma, melanoma and neuroblastoma. Evidence of SR in HCC is much rarer, and less than 90 cases are reported, mainly as case reports or small case series from Far-East particularly from Japan, Korea and China. The exact mechanism underlying SR is unknown, although possible vascular and immunologic phenomenon has been proposed. …