Abstract
Malignant tumors with ectopic hormone production are extremely rare in childhood.Only a few cases of virilizing hepatic tumors have been described so far as causes of precocious puberty in boys.We have observed a 13 m old boy presenting with signs of iso-sexual precocious puberty and a palpable right upper abdominal mass.Preoperative concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein (125 mg/100 ml) , HCG ( β-subunit ) (73 uIU/ml) and testosterone(340 ng/100ml)were clearly elevated. A hepatic trisegmentectomy was performed; the tumor contained high concentrations of HCG.During the postoperative observation period of 4 months alpha-feto-protein and HCG remained undetectable, testosterone normalized to 3.4 ng/100 ml.-Conclusions:Determination of ectopic hormones 1) can serve as a diagnostic clue to the presence of (un)suspected malignancy, and 2) may be useful in evaluating therapy and in detecting recurrence.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heinrich, U., Brandeis, W., Ehrlich, J. et al. Production of human chorionic gonadotropin(HCG)by a virilizing hepatoblastoma. Pediatr Res 13, 1198 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00106
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00106