Adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver: case report

Abstract

We report a case of adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver arising from the left intrahepatic bile duct. A 65year-old man was referred to our hospital with epigastric discomfort of 2 weeks' duration. The results of laboratory and clinical investigations suggested the presence of a cholangiocarcinoma; consequently, left hepatectomy with caudate lobectomy were performed. The histopathological examination revealed adenocarcinoma, squamous carcinoma, and transitional cancer cells in the resected specimen. Multiple liver metastases developed 12 months after surgery, leading to hepatic insufficiency 3 months later. Twenty-five cases of adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver reported in the world literature, including the present case, were reviewed as to the clinicopathological features.

Primary adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver: case report

“…1,2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] The preoperative diagnosis was extremely difficult, with only three patients correctly diagnosed by aspiration cytology.…”

“…Clinical experience with ASC of the liver has been previously reported, and it has been reported that the main initial symptoms were abdominal pain, abdominal discomfort, fever, and jaundice (Table 1). 1,2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] The preoperative diagnosis was extremely difficult, with only three patients correctly diagnosed by aspiration cytology.…”

Double cancer consisting of adenosquamous and hepatocellular carcinomas of the liver

“…A tumor with both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma components has previously been referred to as mucoepidermoid carcinoma, 1–6 adenoacanthoma 7 and adenosquamous carcinoma 8–27 . It sometimes develops in the digestive tract, pancreas, gallbladder and thyroid, but rarely in the liver.…”

“…A tumor with both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma components has previously been referred to as mucoepidermoid carcinoma, 1-6 adenoacanthoma 7 and adenosquamous carcinoma. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] It sometimes develops in the digestive tract, pancreas, gallbladder and thyroid, but rarely in the liver. Adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver is a special type of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma that develops from the biliary epithelial lining cells.…”

“…Adenosquamous carcinoma is defined as a cancer con‐taining both squamous and glandular elements in the same lesion. Primary adenosquamous carcinoma of the liver is very rare, with approximately 30 cases 1–27 reported since Pianzola and Durt 1 first identified this carcinoma as mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the liver in 1971. In this report, we present an extremely rare case of a double cancer consisting of separate adenosquamous and hepatocellular carcinomas of the liver which, to our knowledge, has not been previously reported.…”