The authors present the rare case of a 17-year-old girl referred to the medical assessment unit following a large upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. On further evaluation, she was found to have a primary hepatocellular carcinoma with extensive metastases. In our patient, the tumour was deemed incurable by resection, liver transplantation or percutaneous treatment. She underwent palliative chemotherapy and passed away 11 months following presentation.