Abstract
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is frequently complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but complication with combined hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma (cHCC-CC) or cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) has not been reported. Here, we describe a case of PBC in which cHCC-CC occurred. The patient was a 70-year-old man who had developed jaundice at 62 years old. He was diagnosed with PBC based on a liver biopsy and blood tests. In August 2006, blood tests showed elevated alpha-fetoprotein, and a liver tumor in the right lobe and a metastatic lymphadenopathy in the back near to the head of the pancreas were detected by abdominal contrast-enhanced CT. A 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET scan showed accumulation of the tracer in the tumor and in a lymph node at the back of the pancreas. The tumor and lymph node were removed, and the tumor was diagnosed pathologically as cHCC-CC based on the presence of features of HCC and CCC. This case is the first to show that a patient with PBC can develop cHCC-CC. This is of interest, since cHCC-CC may originate in hepatic stem cells or hepatic precursor cells. This case also suggests that cHCC-CC should be included as a differential diagnosis for a liver tumor complicated with PBC.
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Kobayashi, M., Furuta, K., Kitamura, H. et al. A case of primary biliary cirrhosis that complicated with combined hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma. Clin J Gastroenterol 4, 236–241 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-011-0223-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-011-0223-z