A Case of Primary Hepatic Neuroendocrine Carcinoma

Atsushi Ishibe, Yasuhisa Motizuki, Humihiko Kitou and Tsuneo Fukushima*

Department of Surgery, Yokohama Citizens Hospital
Yokohama Stroke and Brain Center*

We report a case of primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma. A 51 year-old man with liver dysfunction and a hepatic tumor of 10 cm in the lateral lobe was found in plain computed tomography (CT) to have a low-density mass. Enhanced CT showed capsule-like structures surrounding low-density areas. A low-intensity mass observed in T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) became an heterogeneous high-intensity area in T2-weighted MRI. MRCP showed dilated peripheral bile ducts. We resected left hepatic lobe. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for CA19-9 and synaptophysin. The histopathlogical diagnosis was neuroendocrine carcinoma of the liver. Primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma is extremely rare and prognosis is dismal. The patient has, however, been followed up for 13 months without evidence of recurrence.

Key words
neuroendocrine carcinoma, liver

Reprint requests
Atsushi Ishibe Department of Surgery, Saiseikai Yokohama City Nanbu Hospital
3-2-10 Kounanndai, Kounann-ku, Yokohama, 234-8503 JAPAN

Accepted
November 30, 2005

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