Name a distinguishing imaging feature for hepatic adenoma.

Prepare for Liver Disease and Tumors Test with tailored flashcards and questions. Get detailed explanations and improve your knowledge. Ace the medical student exam!

The key imaging clue for hepatic adenoma is its vascular pattern combined with an epidemiologic clue: a lesion that is hypervascular on arterial imaging and typically does not receive normal portal venous blood supply, in a patient with estrogen exposure (for example, a young woman using oral contraceptives). This reflects the tumor’s distinct blood supply, driven mainly by hepatic arteries rather than the portal venous system, and its association with estrogen exposure.

This helps differentiate it from other benign liver lesions. Focal nodular hyperplasia, for instance, is also hypervascular but usually maintains normal portal venous inflow and characteristically has a central scar. The central scar points more to FNH than to hepatic adenoma. So, the combination of arterial-phase hyperenhancement with lack of normal portal supply and estrogen exposure history is the distinguishing feature of hepatic adenoma.