Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the liver: a cohort study.

Abstract

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare condition. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes for IMT of the liver in our large cohort of patients. From January 2001 to December 2007, all patients with a pathological diagnosis of IMT of the liver who underwent partial hepatectomy were retrospectively analyzed. During the study period, 64 patients underwent partial hepatectomy for IMT of the liver in our tertiary referral center. The commonest clinical presentation was abdominal pain (53%), followed by fever (41%); 15.6% of patients were asymptomatic. Preoperative diagnosis of IMT was suspected in only five patients (8%). The indications for surgery included suspicion of malignancy (60.9%), uncertain diagnosis (40.6%), symptomatic disease (26.6%), and spontaneous rupture (3.1%). The postoperative complication rate was low (17.2%). There was no hospital mortality. After a median follow-up of 30 months, no patient developed recurrence. Although there are various treatment options for IMT of the liver, surgical resection for good risk patients is preferred.