A solitary chest wall metastasis from unknown primary hepatocellular carcinoma

We report a 61-year-old male smoker who was admitted to our hospital for treatment of a moderately growing tumour on the right anterolateral chest wall causing chest pain during coughing. Chest computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a 55 x 50 mm inhomogeneous mass around the 4th rib but not penetrating the subcutis and lung. Neither a preoperative technetium scintigraphy nor a needle biopsy revealed the primary nature of the tumour. The patient was treated with en bloc resection and partial resection of the adjacent 3rd and 4th rib. The frozen section diagnosis confirmed a metastasis from a primary hepatocellular carcinoma. EurJ Gastroenterol Hepatol 15:557-559 (C) 2003 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.