Pathological characteristics of liver biopsies in eight patients with hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
We aim to investigate the pathological characteristics of liver biopsies and their implications for the prognosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE). Clinical data of eight patients (5 male, 3 female) with HEHE were analyzed retrospectively. Expression of CD34, FVIII, AE1/AE3, Hepa-par1, GPC3, CK19 and the proliferation index marker Ki-67 were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The clinical pathological features and effects of treatment on prognosis were investigated. Among the eight patients, four did not exhibit significant symptoms, while four showed symptoms such as abdominal distension, aversion to greasy food and mild fever. Two patients had single liver lesions, while multiple lesions were observed in six cases, in which the tumor cells exhibited spindle, irregular or epithelioid morphology, with scattered, streaked and nested distribution. Individual luminal cells were also visible, containing red cells and accompanied by mucoid or fibrous stroma. All cases were CD34 positive, one case was FVIII factor negative, two cases were AE1/AE3 positive, Ki-67 staining exceeded 15% in two cases, and nuclear fission was visible in two cases. Patients with nuclear fission and Ki-67 > 15% died within 2 years after artery embolization, liver transplantation without relapse was observed in two cases and one case survived with the tumor. The other patients without cellular atypia, without nuclear fission and with Ki-67 < 10% did not relapse during the 2-5 years of follow-up. HEHE can be diagnosed according to hematoxylin and eosin morphology and immunohistochemical characteristics in biopsies before treatment allowing the selection of different treatment protocols based on pathological characteristics.