Four Cases of Intrahepatic Biliary Cystadenoma and Cystadenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT

A biliary cystadenoma (BC) and a cystadenocarcinoma (BCA) are rare neoplasms of the liver. Among 178 patients with primary liver neoplasms who underwent surgery during the last two years at our department, there were only one case of BC and three cases of BCA. The BC case was a 57-year-old female with 15-cm-sized multilocular cystic mass containing mucin. That patient, who had undergone a simple excision of a liver cyst 6 years earlier under the diagnosis of a cystadenoma, received a repeated wedge resection and is still doing well, no recurrence, 41 months after the resection. One BCA case was a 59-year-old female with an 8-cm-sized multilocular cystic mass. She underwent an extended left lobectomy and is still alive, without recurrence, 55 months later. Another BCA case was 77-year-old female with multiple multilocular masses which had degenerated due to sclerotherapy; the masses were removed by a wedge resection. She has been alive 35 months without recurrence. The other BCA case was a 37-year-old female with a 10-cm-sized unilocular mass with lung metastasis. She underwent an extended left lobectomy and survived 22 months. Malignant transformation of a BC to a BCA is well documented, and recurrence is the rule following incomplete resection. Complete resection of a BC and radical resection of a BCA seem to offer a chance for long-term survival.