Elevated
-Fetoprotein in a Neonate With a Benign Hemangioendothelioma of the Liver
1 Department of Pediatrics, Division of Diagnostic Referral and Division of Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, One Children's Place, 3705 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
To the Editor.
We recently had the opportunity to care for a neonate with a large intrahepatic mass who was also noted to have an elevated serum
-fetoprotein of 13,800 ng/mL (13,800 µg/L). The elevation of this protein prompted us to consider hepatoblastoma as a likely diagnosis. Although radiologic studies suggested a hemangioma, a biopsy was performed to rule out malignancy, and a benign hemangioendothelioma was found. The lesion spontaneously regressed and the serum
-fetoprotein decreased to 308 ng/mL (308 µg/L) at 2 months of age and to 20 ng/mL (20 µg/L) at 6 months of age.




