Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-organic autoimmune disease with a wide variety of clinical manifestations. However, hepatic dysfunction is not included in the diagnostic criteria for the disease and has not been recognized properly. The spectrum of hepatic involvement described in these patients ranges from abnormalities in liver function tests (LFTs) to fulminant hepatic failure. Usually, abnormalities in LFTs are only mild and transient, have a hepatocellular pattern and are not related to SLE but rather are mostly drug related. The most frequent finding on liver biopsy is steatosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Patients do not frequently progress to advanced chronic liver disease, and their outcome is favourable. Those who develop cirrhosis have traditional risk factors, such as other non-SLE-related conditions. In this work, we aim to review hepatic manifestations in patients with SLE, as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches used for different liver diseases in these patients.

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Atrophic carcinoma and microcystic carcinoma have previously been classified as variants of conventional acinar adenocarcinoma. In this article, we studied 4 cases of atrophic carcinoma and 4 cases of limited microcystic carcinoma. We found an incidence of 0.8% in 250 needle prostatic biopsies and 1.3% of atrophic carcinoma in 150 radical prostatectomies. Microcystic carcinomas were found in 3 prostatectomies (1.2%) and in 1 needle biopsy (0.67%). The useful histological criteria for atrophic carcinoma included the irregular disposition of the glands, infiltrative pattern, “rigid” luminal borders, and intraluminal secretions. Cytological changes included scant cytoplasm, nucleomegaly, hyperchromatic nuclei, and visible nucleoli. The glands of the microcystic carcinoma differ from the benign glands because the malignant ones show a markedly greater dilatation and exhibit rigidity of glandular lumens. In some cases of microcystic carcinoma, the nuclei were flattened, small, and hyperchromatic; therefore, they can be difficult to recognize as malignant.