Clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma supplied by the left internal mammary artery.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) supplied by the left internal mammary artery (LIMA).
Materials and Methods: This cohort included 12 HCCs of 12 patients supplied by the LIMA. The clinical features of these tumors were analyzed.
Results: The tumor diameters were 4.2 ± 4.4 cm (mean ± SD) located at the surface of segments 4 (n = 6), 3 (n = 3), 2 (n = 2), and 4-8 (n = 1), respectively. The tumor was supplied by the phrenic branch (n = 8) or musclophrenic artery (n = 4) entirely (n = 7) or partially (n = 5). Two patients with large tumors 10 and 16 cm in diameter, respectively, received no previous treatment. Ten patients had previously undergone 5.8 ± 3.7 TACE sessions including through extrahepatic collaterals. Selective TACE could not be completed in one. No TACE-related complications developed. Of 11 embolized tumors, six did not recur at 8.8 ± 4.6 months and five recurred 4.4 ± 2.6 months later.
Conclusion: The clinical features of HCC supplied by the LIMA can be divided into two categories, untreated large tumors and small tumors receiving multiple TACE sessions at the subcapsular area of the left hepatic lobe.