A Case of Intrahepatic Bile Duct Carcinoma with Congenital Bile Duct Dilatation, Showing Extremely High Level of CEA in Bile Juice

Hiroaki Nagano, Yo Sasaki, Shingi Imaoka, Takashi Shibata, Seizo Masutani, Ichiro Ohashi, Osamu Ishikawa, Takeshi Iwanaga

Department of Surgery, The Center for Adult Diseases, Osaka

We experienced a patient with intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma with congenital bile duct dilatation, whose diagnosis was based on an extremely high level of CEA in the bile juice. The chief complaints of the 50-year-old female patient were right flank pain and high fever. No imag ingmodalities revealed the existence of a malignant tumor except for intrahepatic stones in the dilated bile ducts of the left hepatic lobe. However, the co-existence of malignancy was strongly suspected from the extremely high level of CEA in bile juice taken from the dilated bile ducts. Pathological examinations showed intra hepatic bile duct carcinoma in the part of the inflamed thickened wall of bile ducts following left hepatectomy. This findings suggested that the measurement of CEA in bile juice may be useful as one of the procedures for detecting malignancy.

Key words
intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma, congenital bile duct dilatation, CEA level in bile juice

Reprint requests
Hiroaki Nagano Second Department of Surgery, Osaka University School of Medicine
1-1-50 Fujushima, Fukushimaku, Osaka, 553 JAPAN

Accepted
November 20, 1991

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