A Report of a Small Sarcomatous Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Masamichi Matsuda, Goro Watanabe, Masaji Hashimoto and Kenichi Ohashi*

Department of Surgery and Department of Pathology*, Toranomon Hospital

We report a very small sarcomatous hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a patient with no history of anticancer therapy. A 68-year-old woman being followed up for chronic hepatitis C found in abdominal ultrasonography (US) to have a hepatic tumor presenting as a low echoic mass 17 mm in diameter in the right hepatic lobe and containing a cystic region at the tumor center. The margin was well enhanced, but the center was hypovascular in both contrast-enhanced computed tomography and angiography, suggesting HCC, but we were at a loss to explain the central hypovascular area. Microscopically, the tumor consisted mainly of dense fibrous tissue, and well-differentiated HCC was observed at the periphery, yielding a definitive diagnosis of sarcomatous HCC. The tumor center was necrotic. In the six years since surgery, and the woman is alive without recurrence.

Key words
small hepatocellular carcinoma, sarcomatous change, spindle cell hepatocellular carcinoma

Reprint requests
Masamichi Matsuda Department of Surgery, Toranomon Hospital
2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, 105-8470 JAPAN

Accepted
October 28, 2009

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