Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe a rare presentation of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. This patient presented for evaluation of a large mass in the posterior neck with associated pain. This unique case will provide information to the scientific and medical community about the clinical features and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in order to increase awareness of the various manifestations of this disease.
Methods: The case presentation was a retrospective chart review. The materials included progress notes from physicians, laboratory data, pathology reports, and radiology reports.
Results: We discuss the clinical features and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. This patient did not present with the typical clinical features of chronic liver disease but rather with a metastatic lesion in a rare location. Obtaining a final diagnosis in this case was difficult due to the unusual metastatic spread pattern that was not easily detected by standard diagnostic procedures.
Conclusions: Extrahepatic metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a lytic mass affecting the cervical spine in a non-cirrhotic patient.