Focal Nodular Hyperplasia; Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment

Diagnosis of focal nodular hyperplasia

Diagnosing focal nodular hyperplasia can occur either accidentally on imaging the liver or the abdomen for any other cause or when symptoms occur. Your doctor will examine your abdomen to detect any liver enlargement after listening to your complaint. Then, they will order some lab tests and imaging studies. Sometimes, a liver biopsy is needed. Only liver biopsy is 100% confirmatory of a focal nodular hyperplasia, but imaging is highly suggestive.

Lab tests include:

• Liver function tests: Liver function tests show any impairment of the liver which is usually not present in focal nodular hyperplasia and if liver function is affected, it means that either there is another cause or that a complication has occurred.
• Complete blood count: A complete blood count is a routine investigation in many cases. However, in cases of benign tumors of the liver, a rare complication can occur which causes platelets number to fall.
• Tumor markers: Tumor markers including alpha fetoprotein and HCG are proteins that are elevated in cases of some cancers. However, this is not the case in benign tumors, and their elevation with a diagnosis of a benign tumor suggests that another cancer is probable. However, they are not specific and are only relevant when a malignant tumor is suspected.