This review on the pathology of hepatic tumors in childhood, from a personal 
series of 245 tumors, focuses on incidence, management, description of frequent 
tumors such as hepatoblastoma, fibrolamellar carcinoma, and undifferentiated 
sarcoma for malignant tumors, focal nodular hyperplasia, hepatocellular adenoma, 
and mesenchymal hamartoma for benign tumors. Malignant and benign entities of 
recent description, including the following: crowded, small cell 
undifferentiated and cholangioblastic variants of hepatoblastomas, mesenchymal 
hamartoma miming hepatoblastoma, liver adenoma and adenomatosis in diabete MODY3 
families, gastrointestinal stromal tumor with liver metastasis associated to 
Carney triad, macronodules in non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis are reviewed. For 
each entity, the clinical presentation, the diagnostic criteria and the 
differential diagnosis are described. The role of immunohistochemistry and 
molecular biology in the diagnosis and identification of new molecular 
mechanisms triggered by oncogenic activation with new prognostic markers, and 
therapeutic targets is emphasized.