Hepatic angiomyolipoma: MRI findings

Angiomyolipoma is a benign mesenchymal tumor of the PEComas group, which consists of three components in varying proportions: adipose tissue, smooth muscle cells and blood vessels. The hepatic localization is rare, less than 300 cases have been described in the literature. Depending on the predominant tissue component, hepatic angiomyolipoma can take on different imaging aspects and be mistaken for hepatocellular carcinoma or other types of mild liver damage. Diagnostic criteria of hepatic angiomyolipoma are a well-defined, non-encapsulated tumor, with fatty contingent, hyper-vascular with persistent contrast enhancement, the seat of large intratumoral vessels draining into a hepatic vein. Because of the risk of bleeding, recurrence and malignant transformation, all very rare, the treatment of choice is surgical resection. Based on a series of four hepatic angiomyolipomas with a preoperative liver MRI, we describe the main aspects encountered in imaging. (c) 2013 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.