Combined hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma in a non-cirrhotic liver

Combined hepatocellular (HCC) and cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) (mixed carcinoma) is a rare subtype of primary hepatic carcinoma. We report a case of mixed carcinoma that developed in a non-cirrhotic liver, in a patient who was serologically negative for both hepatitis B and C viruses. A 65-year old Japanese woman with a 25-year history of chronic rheumatoid arthritis had been treated with steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs, and was diagnosed by ultrasonography with an asymptomatic solitary tumor in the right lobe of the liver. On computed tomography scan and hepatic arteriography, the tumor was well enhanced by contrast medium in the early phase. Based on the findings of elevated serum alpha-fete protein (AFP, 245 ng/ml) and normal carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA, 2.6ng/ml) levels, a preoperative diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was made. Right lobectomy of the liver was performed on January 7, 1997. Histological examination showed that the resected tumor consisted of combined CCC cells and HCC cells in an intermingled form, with CCC being far more dominant than HCC. The tumor was therefore determined to be a combined carcinoma, subclassified as intermingled type. This case appears to indicate that mixed type carcinoma developed in a non-cirrhotic liver, with CCC being dominant; such a finding is extremely unusual, based on previously published reports.