Which is the most common benign vascular liver tumor in infancy?

Which is the most common benign vascular liver tumor in infancy?

• A. Hemangioma
• B. Focal Nodular Hyperplasia
• C. Kasabach-Merritt syndrome
• D. Infantile Hemangioendothelioma

Answer: (D)

Infantile hepatic hemangioma (infantile hemangioendothelioma) is the most common benign vascular liver tumor in infancy. These lesions often appear in the first months of life and can be solitary or multifocal, frequently associated with cutaneous infantile hemangiomas. On imaging they are high-flow vascular tumors with arterial enhancement and tend to fill in centripetally on delayed phases; clinically they can be asymptomatic or, if large, cause high-output heart failure. The other options are less typical for infancy: focal nodular hyperplasia occurs later in life; Kasabach-M Merritt syndrome is a coagulopathy associated with certain aggressive vascular tumors; a generic hemangioma is not specific to infancy.

Infantile hepatic hemangioma (infantile hemangioendothelioma) is the most common benign vascular liver tumor in infancy. These lesions often appear in the first months of life and can be solitary or multifocal, frequently associated with cutaneous infantile hemangiomas. On imaging they are high-flow vascular tumors with arterial enhancement and tend to fill in centripetally on delayed phases; clinically they can be asymptomatic or, if large, cause high-output heart failure. The other options are less typical for infancy: focal nodular hyperplasia occurs later in life; Kasabach-M Merritt syndrome is a coagulopathy associated with certain aggressive vascular tumors; a generic hemangioma is not specific to infancy.