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We aim to investigate the pathological characteristics of liver biopsies and their implications for the prognosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE). Clinical data of eight patients (5 male, 3 female) with HEHE were analyzed retrospectively. Expression of CD34, FVIII, AE1/AE3, Hepa-par1, GPC3, CK19 and the proliferation index marker Ki-67 were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The clinical pathological features and effects of treatment on prognosis were investigated. Among the eight patients, four did not exhibit significant symptoms, while four showed symptoms such as abdominal distension, aversion to greasy food and mild fever. Two patients had single liver lesions, while multiple lesions were observed in six cases, in which the tumor cells exhibited spindle, irregular or epithelioid morphology, with scattered, streaked and nested distribution. Individual luminal cells were also visible, containing red cells and accompanied by mucoid or fibrous stroma. All cases were CD34 positive, one case was FVIII factor negative, two cases were AE1/AE3 positive, Ki-67 staining exceeded 15% in two cases, and nuclear fission was visible in two cases. Patients with nuclear fission and Ki-67 > 15% died within 2 years after artery embolization, liver transplantation without relapse was observed in two cases and one case survived with the tumor. The other patients without cellular atypia, without nuclear fission and with Ki-67 < 10% did not relapse during the 2-5 years of follow-up. HEHE can be diagnosed according to hematoxylin and eosin morphology and immunohistochemical characteristics in biopsies before treatment allowing the selection of different treatment protocols based on pathological characteristics.

In China, liver failure is also termed as severe hepatitis in whom chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB) is most common. The aim of this study was to assess whether CSHB based on different liver injury extent can meet the international definition of acute-on-chronic liver failure(ACLF)criteria, according by their clinical and pathological feature.A total of 91 patients with CSHB were involved in the study. The clinical findings, laboratory data and liver pathology features were retrospectively analyzed and grouped by hepatitis virus B carrier state (HBC), chronic hepatitis B (CHB) or liver cirrhosis (LC) before they started liver failure.74 out of the 91 patients were male and 17 were female, the mean age was 40.6+/-11.2 years. 9.9%, 7.7% and 82.4% of the patients were based on HBC, CHB and LC respectively. The ages of HBC group were youngest. The mean age of HBC group (years) (25.8+/-6.6) was significantly lower than that of CHB group (36.9+/-9.0) and LC group (42.0+/-10.5)with P values of 0.032 and 0.001 respectively. Most cases presented with sub-acute liver failure characterized by high icterus and ascites. Predisposing factors included exertion, superinfection, virus variation, drugs or alcoholic injury. No difference found between PTA (F = 0.906, P = 0.408) and TBil (F = 0.839, P = 0.436) among the above three groups. The Alb and CHE levels in LC group were (30.3+/-5.1) g/L and (2926.8+/-1471.1) U/L respectively, which were lower than both HBC group [Alb (35.6+/-5.1) g/L, CHE (4363.5+/-2063.2) U/L] and CHB group [Alb (37.4+/-5.0) g/L, CHE (5167.1+/-1522.1) U/L] (F = 9.450; F = 9.297; P value less than 0.01).The level of CHO (1.8+/-1.0) mmol/L in LC group was lower than that of HBC group (2.9+/-1.0mmol/L, P = 0.034), while serum HBV DNA level of HBC group [(6.8+/-1.7) log10copies/ml] was higher than that of LC group [(4.2+/-2.6) log10copies/ml]. The liver tissue in HBC and CHB group showed massive or submassive necrosis which distribute evenly in different parts of liver and similarly in slides, most like acute/subacute severe hepatitis. The chronic lesion was easily covered by extensive necrosis in CSHB based on CHB, with portal fibrosis can be seen by masson stain. Characteristic picture of LC group were massive or submassive necrosis with some nodules were intact or only patchy necrosis of the parenchyma, disparity of extent and stage of necrosis existed in slides, which were the major difference in histopathological change in HBC and CHB group.Most of CSHB cases were based on liver cirrhosis, which match with the international definition of ACLF, while small part of CSHB cases based on HBC and CHB are identical to acute/subacute liver failure.