A Case Report of the Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Liver

Yasuhito Kitakado, Takumi Simomatsuya, Kouji Takahashi, Tetsuya Horiuchi, Yasuhiko Masuda, Nobuhiko Tanigawa, Ryusuke Muraoka, Nobushige Hayashi*

Second Department of Surgery
*Department of Radiology, Fukui Medical School

A rare case of adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver is reported. A 48-year-old woman presented with epigastralgia and back pain. Various examinations judged the case to be cholangiocarcinoma of the liver. Extended right hepatectomy was performed under extracorporeal circulation with a bio-pump, but liver metastasis occurred 3 months postoperatively, resulting in death one month thereafter. Histologically, the tumor was located in the right anterior lobe of the liver and demonstrated both malignant squamous and glandular components as well as foci of transition between the two. Adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver is an extremely rare primary hepatic neoplasm that was first reported by Pianzola et al. in 1971. A review of the literature revealed 24 previously reported cases. Although the intrahepatic site of occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma is still controversial, it is generally accepted that the pathogenesis of adenosquamous carcinoma is the squamous metaplasia of cancer cells. In the present case, we considered squamous cell carcinoma to have originated from cholangiocarcinoma.

Key words
cholangioma, adenosquamous carcinoma of liver

Reprint requests
Yasuhito Kitakado Department of Surgery, Kobe Teisin Hospital
6-2-43 Kamitsutsui, Tyuuouku, Kobe, 651 JAPAN

Accepted
April 14, 1993

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