How is hepatoblastoma caused

Hepatoblastoma is the most common liver tumor in children. It causes great harm to children's physical and mental health. The disease is highly malignant and can metastasize through the blood and lymphatic pathways. The common cause is abnormal development of embryonic connective tissue and malignant tumors occurring in the embryonic primordial cells of the liver. Therefore, once the cause is determined, it is important to focus on scientific treatment methods.

1. Overview

Hepatoblastoma is the most common liver tumor in children, accounting for approximately 62% of primary liver malignancies in children. The disease originates from the embryonic primordial cells of the liver and is an epithelial-derived liver malignancy. In 1896, Walter first reported this disease as carcinoma, and it is also called hepatoembryonic carcinoma and infantile hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatoblastoma is usually solitary and of varying sizes. The disease is highly malignant and can metastasize widely through the blood and lymphatic pathways. The more common sites of metastasis are the lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes and brain.

2. Pathological Causes

The cause may be the abnormal development of embryonic connective tissue, a malignant tumor arising from the embryonic primordial cells of the liver. The disease may occur in the newborn in utero, and there are reports of it occurring in the fetus at 7 months of gestation. In adults, malignant tumors may develop after embryonic hepatocytes remain in the liver for many years.

3. Medication

Surgical resection is the most effective treatment, often supplemented with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy. If hepatoblastoma can be resected, the prognosis is better than that of primary hepatocellular carcinoma, and about one-third of patients can survive for 5 years. Hepatoblastoma is usually not accompanied by cirrhosis, and the tumor is usually solitary with an intact capsule. Left or right trisegmentectomy is feasible, and the maximum amount of resection can reach 75% of the entire liver. Therefore, a positive attitude should be taken in the treatment of this disease, and efforts should be made to completely resect it. A report of 57 cases of primary liver cancer in children included 16 cases of hepatoblastoma, all of which were successfully resected with no operative mortality. Eleven patients have survived for more than 6 years. The longest-surviving case was an 11-month-old boy who had a giant liver tumor in the right liver. He underwent right hepatectomy. The tumor weighed 810 g and was pathologically diagnosed as hepatoblastoma. He has been alive for 16 years after the operation.