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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2025; 13(31): 110624
Published online Nov 6, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i31.110624
Published online Nov 6, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i31.110624
Liver failure due to metastatic melanoma: A case report
Viktor Domislovic, Vibor Sesa, Anna Mrzljak, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Iva Kosuta, Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Stela Bulimbasic, Department of Pathology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Stela Bulimbasic, Anna Mrzljak, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Author contributions: Domislovic V and Sesa V contributed to manuscript writing and editing, and data collection; Mrzljak A and Kosuta I contributed to the literature review and interpretation of findings; Mrzljak A, Domislovic V, and Bulimbasic S contributed to the clinical data analyses; Mrzljak A contributed to conceptualization and supervision; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Vibor Sesa, MD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
Received: June 11, 2025
Revised: July 18, 2025
Accepted: August 25, 2025
Published online: November 6, 2025
Processing time: 141 Days and 21 Hours
Revised: July 18, 2025
Accepted: August 25, 2025
Published online: November 6, 2025
Processing time: 141 Days and 21 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Acute liver failure (ALF) due to diffuse hepatic infiltration by metastatic melanoma is an exceptionally rare and often misdiagnosed entity, especially in patients without a known history of malignancy. This case highlights the importance of considering infiltrative malignancy in unexplained ALF, even when initial imaging suggests vascular etiologies such as Budd-Chiari syndrome. Liver biopsy remains essential for accurate diagnosis and may alter transplant eligibility. Early recognition and histopathologic confirmation are critical for guiding appropriate clinical decisions in this rapidly fatal presentation.