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Tamoxifen-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in patients with breast cancer: Determination of a suitable biopsy site for diagnosis

2003; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3892/or.10.1.97

1791-2431

Yoriko Murata, Yasuhiro Ogawa, Toshiji Saibara, Akihito Nishioka, Naoko Takeuchi, Shinji Kariya, Saburo Onishi, Shōji Yoshida,

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis

We have evaluated the distribution of fatty infiltration in the liver for determination of a suitable biopsy site for diagnosis of tamoxifen-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in patients with breast cancer. Thirty-eight consecutive breast cancer patients undergoing tamoxifen treatment were analyzed by CT to identify hepatic steatosis (HS) via calculation of the liver/spleen CT ratio in Couinaud's 8 areas. We defined hepatic fatty infiltration as a liver/spleen ratio of less than 0.9. The extent and distribution of the fatty infiltration was assessed using the liver/spleen ratio of the patients who had the lowest CT ratio below 0.9 in the 8 areas. Thirteen (34.2%) of the 38 patients had hepatic fatty infiltration. The liver/spleen ratios of each area differed significantly in all patients (p<0.0001). The CT ratio of these 13 patients was significantly lower in the right lobe than the left lobe (p<0.0001), although the ratios did not differ significantly among the 4 areas of the right lobe (p=0.52). Needle biopsy for diagnosis of NASH should be performed at the right lobe, which contains significantly more infiltrated fat than the left lobe in the liver.