Ruptured benign hepatoma associated with an oral contraceptive

Abstract

A ruptured benign hepatoma is described in a woman at full-term pregnancy. The patient had used an oral contraceptive for eight years before she became pregnant. According to several recent reports it seems likely that there is a relationship between the use of oral contraceptive agents and the development of liver cell tumours. Twentythree such cases have been found in the literature. Fourteen of these were not diagnosed before rupture. The present tumour differed from previously described lesions by containing foci of haematopoietic cells. As there were no signs of blood or bone marrow disease, it is suggested that the extramedullary haematopoiesis is a constituent of the tumour tissue.