A Case Report of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Sarcomatous Change that Recurred as a Huge Tumor of the Abdominal Wall in the Early Period after Hepatectomy

Yasushi Morita, Taichi Kanamaru, Kyosuke Ohta, Masahiro Yamamoto, Yoichi Saitoh, Yoshitake Hayashi*, Hiroshi Itoh*

First Department of Surgery and *First Department of Pathology, Kobe University, School of Medicine

A case of a resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with sarcomatous change that recurred in an early period as a huge tumor of the abdominal wall is reproted. A 65-year-old man was admitted in our hospital complaining of upper abdominal pain. He was found to have a tumor, 4.0 cm in diameter at the lateral upper segment of the liver by imaging diagnosis. He was diagnosed as having HCC, poorly differentiated type, and underwent partial hepatectomy. Histologically, the tumor consisted mostly of spindle cells or giant cells, growing medullary, and was diagnosed as HCC with sarcomatous change. There was local recurrence in the abdominal wall with hemorrhage around the resected liver 1 month after hepatectomy. This tumor grew rapidly and became about 20 cm in diameter 2 months after hepatectomy. The doubling time of this tumor was 11.9 days. We suggest that it is necessary to perform hepatectomy as much as possible in HCC with sarcomatous change, which has high malignancy.

Key words
hepatocellular carcinoma, sarcomatous change

Reprint requests
Yasushi Morita First Department of Surgeyr, Kobe University School of Medicine
7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuoku, Kobe, 650 JAPAN

Accepted
June 12, 1996

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