Hepatic adenoma

Diagnosis

Hepatic adenoma is usually detected by imaging, typically an ultrasound or CT, as a hyperenhancing liver nodule. Given that several liver tumors appear similarly on these imaging modalities, a multi-phase contrast-enhanced imaging study such as CT or MRI may be used to provide more information. The significance of making a specific diagnosis is that, unlike other benign liver tumors such as hemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia, hepatic adenomas have a small but meaningful risk of progressing into a malignancy. Although imaging provides supportive information, a definitive diagnosis of hepatic adenoma requires biopsy of the tissue.