Description
The specimen is a slice of liver tissue. The right lobe shows a predominantly micronodular
cirrhosis, although occasional large hepatic nodules are seen. The left lobe of the liver has been
almost totally replaced by a large nodular tumour mass, this shows microcystic degeneration with
foci of necrosis and haemorrhage. The tumour has the histological appearances of a hepatocellular
carcinoma.
History
The patient, a 52 year old woman, was admitted with vague abdominal symptoms and
died suddenly. The cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were discovered at postmortem. There
were no known predisposing factors.