Hemoperitoneo como forma de presentación del carcinoma hepatocelular: experiencia de tres casos con rotura tumoral espontánea y revisión de la literatura

hemoperitoneum due to spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) constitutes a life-threatening situation if no appropriate therapy is provided. this complication is a well-known form of hcc presentation in countries with high incidence of liver tumours, but is an unusual event in western countries, where it has been described in 5% or less of cases with hcc. we report three patients admitted to our centre with acute hemoperitoneum secondary to non-traumatic rupture as a first manifestation of not previously diagnosed hcc. a review of the related literature is also performed.