Solitary Hepatic Eosinophilic Granuloma Accompanied by Eosinophilia Without Parasitosis: Report of a Case.

A 43-year-old Japanese woman visited for a hepatic tumor incidentally found. We suspected eosinophilic granuloma of the liver (EGL) due to visceral larva migrans (VLM). However, neither past history nor medical interview indicated a risk of parasitosis. Blood testing revealed eosinophilia, serum examination showed normal results for immunoglobulin E, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay yielded negative for Toxocara and Anisakis. Gastric and colonic endoscopy revealed normal features. Several imagings showed central necrosis of the tumor. After informed consent, laparoscopic resection was performed. Histopathological examination showed EGL without parasites. No recurrence had occurred postoperatively. Most reports documented that EGL are caused by VLM. However, parasites are not always demonstrable on serum, histopathological, or immunochemical examinations. When acting as allergens to induce type I responses, microscopic agents other than parasites in the intestinal tract could induce eosinophilic inflammation in the liver. Accumulation of more cases should help clarify other pathogeneses for EGL.

Cholangiocarcinoma in a middle-aged patient working at a printing plant.

A 39-year-old male with elevated serum transferases consulted our hospital in September 2010. Since 1999, he had worked at a printing company using organic solvents. Cholangiography revealed stenosis of the left hepatic duct with peripheral dilation, stricture of the right hepatic duct, and irregularity of the extrahepatic bile duct. As a preoperative diagnosis of sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma was made, extended left hepatectomy with resection of the extrahepatic bile duct and anastomosis of the anterior and posterior branches of the bile duct and the jejunum (Roux-en Y reconstruction) were performed. A histological examination showed papillary carcinoma of the medial hepatic bile duct with intraductal growth, and biliary intraepithelial neoplasia-2/3 lesions from the medial hepatic bile duct to the right hepatic and the common bile ducts. Chronic cholangitis was shown around the tumors. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with adjuvant chemo-radiation, and he is doing well 30 months after the operation, without recurrence. Unknown causes, including exposure to organic solvents, might have induced chronic bile duct injury and contributed to the development of cholangiocarcinoma.

Carcinosarcoma of the liver: report of a case.

A 64-year-old Japanese woman without a history of viral hepatitis was admitted for investigation of a huge liver mass. The tumor, measuring 14 × 12 × 22 cm, had invaded the diaphragm, right lung, and inferior vena cava. Serum examinations demonstrated high levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and the Child-Pugh score was A. She underwent right lobectomy of the liver and partial resection of the right diaphragm, right lung, and inferior vena cava. Radio- and chemotherapy were also given, but she died of recurrence 3 months after surgery. Microscopically, the tumor exhibited intermingled adenocarcinomatous and atypical mesenchymal components. The carcinomatous component was positive for cytokeratins 7, 19, and 20, chromogranin A, epithelial membrane antigen, c-KIT, and vimentin. The sarcomatous component was positive for vimentin and c-KIT. A review of 36 cases of hepatic carcinosarcoma revealed the following: chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis in 57 % of the patients; increased serum CA19-9 levels in 30 %; a mean tumor diameter of 10 cm; invasion of the adjacent organs or metastasis to distant organs in 47 %; wide intrahepatic infiltration in 44 %; and 50 % survival of only 5 months. Significant differences were seen according to tumor diameter (diameter >5 cm; p < 0.05), wide intrahepatic infiltration (p < 0.05), and extrahepatic invasion/metastasis (p < 0.01). Neither chemotherapy nor radiotherapy contributed to prognosis, but surgical resection resulted in some improvement (p < 0.05).

Huge liver abscess radiologically mimicking cystadenocarcinoma.

A 72-old-year Japanese man was incidentally found to have out liver dysfunction on serum examination and a cystic tumor in the liver. Dynamic computed tomography revealed a solitary cystic tumor 14 cm in diameter with multiple septa. The cyst wall was occasionally irregular with hyperarterial inflow. After admission, he suffered from fever and right upper abdominal pain. We suspected cystadenocarcinoma with intraluminal infection. Percutaneous transhepatic drainage was performed. However, neither cytologic examination nor culture test was positive. The cystic tumor had been decreasing in size, and hepatic resection performed. Macroscopically, the tumor was a gray-yellow solid tumor with a fine boundary between tumor and liver parenchyma, and the cystic lesion collapsed. Microscopically, the tumor consisted of hepatic infarction, degenerated Glisson's sheath, and chronic inflammation, and chronic liver abscess was diagnosed. Most cases of bacterial liver abscess can be diagnosed because progression is accompanied by typical signs. However, it is difficult to diagnose liver abscess in the chronic phase because chronic liver abscesses exhibit various features on imaging series without typical signs or symptoms. When atypical liver cyst is found, the possibility of liver abscess in chronic phase should be considered.

Tumor Implantation into the Intrahepatic Bile Duct after Percutaneous Ethanol Injection Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

A 74-year-old man who had undergone transcatheter arterial embolization for hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (Couinaud's segment III/IV) in April 2003 and percutaneous ethanol injection for recurrence at the same site in February 2006 was found to have dilation of the intrahepatic bile duct by computed tomography in October 2008. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed a thrombosis occupying the left hepatic duct to the lateral branches with peripheral bile duct dilation. Serum concentration of alpha-fetoprotein was elevated. We performed a left hepatectomy under a preoperative diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct invasion. The cut surface of the resected specimen showed a tumor thrombosis occupying the region between the left hepatic duct and lateral branches, but no tumor in the liver parenchyma. Histologic examination showed that the thrombosis in the intrahepatic bile duct was hepatocellular carcinoma. Since part of the hepatocellular carcinoma in the region treated with percutaneous ethanol injection was adjacent to the tumor thrombosis in the intrahepatic bile duct in diagnostic imaging, we diagnosed implantation into the intrahepatic bile duct due to percutaneous ethanol injection. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient is doing well without recurrence 8 months after the operation.