Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach: an unusual case of elevated alpha-fetoprotein with prior treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is a rare type of extrahepatic carcinoma whose morphology is similar to that of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Metachronous HCC and HAC in the same patient is extremely rare. The case of a 68-year-old man with chronic hepatitis B infection who had both HCC and HAC of the stomach is reported herein. Nine years previously this patient had been diagnosed with HCC and received a right lobectomy. HCC that recurred at the caudate lobe at 6 months after the operation was successfully treated with transarterial chemoembolization. The patient was followed up regularly thereafter without evidence of tumor recurrence for 9 years. In July 2010 his serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level elevated from 6.5 ng/mL to 625.4 ng/mL, and he developed a probable single metastatic lymph node around the hepatic artery without intrahepatic lesions. Subsequent evaluation with upper endoscopy revealed a 4-cm ulcerative lesion on the antrum of the stomach. Subtotal gastrectomy was performed with lymph-node dissection. Histologic examination revealed a special type of extrahepatic AFP-producing adenocarcinoma-HAC with lymph-node metastasis-which indicates that HAC can be a cause of elevated AFP even in patients with HCC. HAC should be considered if a patient with stable HCC exhibits unusual elevation of AFP.

A Case of Pulmonary Blastomycosis Mimicking Pulmonary Tuberculosis / 결핵및호흡기질환

Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungus that causes the systemic pyogranulomatous disease known as blastomycosis. Blastomycosis most often involves the lungs, skin, and may involve nearly every organ in the body. It is difficult, however, to diagnose blastomycosis in the early stage of pulmonary disease because clinical manifestations are varied from subclinical infection to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Since blastomycosis is often accompanied by granulomatous inflammation in histopathologic findings, differentiation from other etiologic diseases is important. We report a case of a 45-year-old male with pulmonary blastomycosis who had been misdiagnosed with tuberculosis for 3 months.