Oral contraceptives, pregnancy, and focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver
L. D. Scott, A. R. Katz, J. H. Duke, D. F. Cowan and N. F. Maklad
There is uncertainty regarding the role, if any, of oral contraceptive
steroids in the development of focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver. In a
36-year-old woman, a large left hepatic lobe tumor developed that was
detected after 11 years of using these drugs. The tumor regressed when
administration of the drug was stopped but began to increase in size during
a subsequent pregnancy. A left hepatic lobectomy during the second
trimester disclosed focal nodular hyperplasia. Both contraceptive steroids
and pregnancy, with high levels of endogenous sex steroids, favored tumor
growth in this patient, suggesting that focal nodular hyperplasia can be
steroid related.
