BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hepatic angiomyolipoma is more frequently encountered in clinical practice, its diagnosis is difficult, its treatment remains controversial. We review a single-center experience in the treatment of hepatic angiomyolipoma. METHOD: The clinical data of 79 patients with hepatic angiomyolipoma treated at the authors' institute between January 1992 and December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: During a period of 15 years, a total of 79 patients with hepatic angiomyolipoma underwent liver resection at our hospital. There are 58 women and 21 men. The tumor size varied from 1 to 25 cm in diameter (6.1 +/- 4.08). Fifty-four patients (68%) were asymptomatic. Accurate preoperative diagnosis was made in 41 patients (52%). Tumors less than 6 cm in size were more frequently misdiagnosed. Spontaneous rupture occurred in one patient. One patient had tumor recurrence 6 years after the surgery, and died of the disease 1 year later. Symptom relief was achieved in 92% of the symptomatic patients. Median survival was 90 months (90.12 +/- 30.84). CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic angiomyolipoma poses a diagnostic challenge clinically and radiologically. Surgical resection is a safe and effective treatment option. It is important to realize the potential of malignant transformation and risk of rupture as life-threatening complications.
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