Gut Liver.  2010 Mar;4(1):98-102.

Hepatoid Carcinoma of the Pancreas Combined with Neuroendocrine Carcinoma

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Gastroenterology, Institute of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bang7028@yuhs.ac
  • 2Department of General Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Hepatoid carcinoma is a primary extrahepatic carcinoma whose morphology, immunohistochemistry, and behavior are similar to those of hepatocellular carcinoma. The most common sites of extrahepatic carcinoma are the stomach and ovary, but nine cases of hepatocellular differentiation of the pancreas have been reported in the literature. We report another case of hepatoid carcinoma of the pancreas that was associated with the development of a pancreatic endocrine carcinoma in a 46-year-old man. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was elevated to 262.49 IU/mL and radiological examinations revealed a mass measuring 7.5 cm in diameter in the head of the pancreas. He underwent a conventional Whipple operation, and light microscopy showed adenocarcinoma that was immunopositive for AFP, hepatocyte antigen, cytokeratin, chromogranin, synaptophysin, and alpha-1 antichymotrypsin. Although hepatoid differentiation was not shown unequivocally histologically, other immunohistochemistry findings supported the diagnosis of hepatoid carcinoma combined with neuroendocrine carcinoma. The patient was healthy and had no evidence of recurrence at 4 months after the surgery. This report describes why hepatoid carcinoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis of a pancreatic mass, especially when serum AFP is elevated.

Keyword

Hepatoid carcinoma; Pancreas; Neuroendocrine carcinoma

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
alpha-Fetoproteins
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Head
Hepatocytes
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Keratins
Light
Microscopy
Middle Aged
Ovary
Pancreas
Recurrence
Stomach
Synaptophysin
Keratins
Synaptophysin
alpha-Fetoproteins
Full Text Links
  • GNL
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr