A Case of Cholangiolocellular Carcinoma with Sarcomatous Change

Shigeru Sasaki, Shinichiro Takahashi, Taira Kinoshita, Masaru Konishi, Toshio Nakagohri, Naoto Gotohda and Motohiro Kojima*

Department of Digestive Surgery and Department of Clinical Pathology*, National Cancer Center Hospital East

We report a rare case of cholangiolocellular carcinoma with sarcomatous change. A 62-year-old man was diagnosed with a segment 8 liver tumor in computed tomography (CT) following up on chronic hepatitis B. We diagnosed the tumor as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on precise visual examination and laboratory data on evaluated AFP and PIVKA-II HCC tumor marker. Following anterior segment resection, histological findings showed two main tumor components contained. (1) pleomorphic spindle cells, and (2) small anastomosing pattern ductules. The final diagnosis was cholangiolocellular carcinoma with sarcomatous change. The man's postoperative recovery was uneventful, but he encountered breathing difficulty three months postoperatively, and CT showed numerous recurrent nodules in the remnant liver, lymphadenopathy around the aorta, and pleural effusion on the right side. The man died four months postoperatively. Cholangiocellular carcinoma, which is rare, is even rarer when involving sarcomatous change. To the best of our knowledge, no report has been made of cholangiolocellular carcinoma with sarcomatous change, making this case vital to research and treatment.

Key words
cholangiolocellular carcinoma, sarcomatous change, hepatic progenitor cell

Reprint requests
Shigeru Sasaki National Cancer Center Hospital East
6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, 277-8577

Accepted
May 19, 2010

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