Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the liver in children

Abstract

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor (IMT) was originally described in the lungs but it has been reported to occur at extrapulmonary sites. These are benign tumors which have a tendency either to be aggressive or regress spontaneously as reported by other authors. Histologically it is characterized by prominent spindle cell proliferation with a chronic inflammatory infiltrate thus IMT's have been given synonyms including plasma cell granuloma, inflammatory pseudotumor and inflammatory fibrosarcoma. It is a rare tumor that occurs in various parts of the body including the abdomen, soft tissue and liver. We report a case of a 4 year old female child with a liver IMT and present a review of various features of liver IMT in children. This child underwent resection of the liver IMT with an unremarkable post-operative course and upon histological examination confirmed features of IMT.