Eosinophilic Liver Abscess Mimicking Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma on 18F-FDG PET-CT: A Case Report
Background and Clinical Significance: Eosinophilic liver abscess (ELA) is a rare benign condition that can mimic malignant liver tumors on imaging studies. The diagnostic challenge is further compounded when 18F-FDG PET-CT demonstrates high metabolic activity. Case Presentation: A 39-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, jaundice, and marked peripheral eosinophilia (34%). Imaging revealed a single liver mass with intense FDG uptake (SUVmax 10.8), highly suspicious for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Parasitic serologies were negative. Surgical resection revealed eosinophilic infiltration without malignancy. The patient remained disease-free at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: ELA can closely mimic ICC on PET-CT, with high FDG uptake representing a significant diagnostic pitfall. This case underscores the importance of considering ELA in the differential diagnosis of hypermetabolic liver masses in patients with peripheral eosinophilia and highlights that surgical resection remains a reasonable approach when malignancy cannot be excluded.
Authors
- Ying Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4439-0592)
- Hua‐Liang Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4704-7346)
- Chidan Wan
- Yifan Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2013-1900)
- Shiran Sun
- E Cai
Institutions
- Union Hospital (HK)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diagnostics
- Published
- 2025-11-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15233057
- Primary Topic
- Eosinophilic Disorders and Syndromes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00