Spontaneous complete regression of hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus.

We report herein a case of spontaneous complete regression of hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus. A 69-year-old Japanese man with chronic hepatitis C was admitted to our hospital, because of a large mass in the right hepatic lobe. He was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma based on computed tomography and the elevated serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein. Abdominal angiography revealed portal vein tumor thrombus. Approximately 2 months after the initial diagnosis, alpha-fetoprotein had decreased to a normal range. Under a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, a right hepatic lobectomy was performed, and histological examination of the resected specimen revealed no viable tumor cells. The patient is alive 1 year after the surgery without evidence of recurrence.