Patient's question:
Hepatoblastoma? My friend's child was doing well in the first few days after birth, but recently some symptoms have appeared. The child's abdomen is significantly swollen, but the weight has dropped severely, even lighter than at birth. The child also doesn't like to eat milk and only managed to swallow a little when forced, but immediately vomited it back up. Yesterday, my friend said the test results showed the child has hepatoblastoma. What causes hepatoblastoma?Doctor's answer:
Hello, the detailed pathogenesis of hepatoblastoma remains unclear, but it is generally considered an embryonal tumor. It may be due to abnormal proliferation and differentiation of hepatocytes during embryonic development, with immature liver embryonic tissue still present in the fetus or after birth. These abnormal tissues continue to proliferate, forming masses of immature tissue, which may transform into malignant embryonal tumors. The pathological process of malignant tumors may occur in late fetal life and only manifest in adulthood. Clinically, the most common malignant tumors still occur in infants and young children.