Sarcomatoid Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Rare Case of Primary Liver Cancer

Lee, Doo Hyuck; Han, Kyu Hyung; Ahn, Sun Young; Kim, Sang Sun; Shin, Hyun Sung; Bang, Ki Bae; Choi, Jun Ho; Kim, Suk Bae; Lee, Won Ae; Song, il Han

doi:2016.16.2.139

J Liver Cancer > Volume 16(2); 2016 > Article

Case Report

Journal of Liver Cancer 2016;16(2):139-144.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17998/jlc.16.2.139 Published online September 30, 2016.

Sarcomatoid Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Rare Case of Primary Liver Cancer

Doo Hyuck Lee¹, Kyu Hyung Han¹, Sun Young Ahn¹, Sang Sun Kim¹, Hyun Sung Shin¹, Ki Bae Bang¹, Jun Ho Choi¹, Suk Bae Kim¹, Won Ae Lee², il Han Song¹

¹Departments of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
²Departments of Pathology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea

Correspondence: il Han Song,
Email: ihsong21@dankook.ac.kr

Abstract

Sarcomatoid carcinoma arising from intrahepatic cholangiocyte, an extremely rare primary liver cancer, has highly invasive and metastatic potential. The pathogenesis of this tumor is unclear, although histogenetic mechanisms, such as transdifferentiation/dedifferentiation (epithelialmesenchymal transition or metaplastic transformation), biphasic differentiation (combination and collision), and redifferentiation, might be suggested to explain the simultaneous coexistence of carcinoma and sarcoma components in the same tumor. Immunohistochemical staining might be necessary to differentiate whether sarcomatous component is originated from hepatocyte or cholangiocyte. We report a case of sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in a 58 year-old man presenting as an incidentally detected liver mass on regular health examination, which was diagnosed by an application of immunohistochemical methods after surgical resection, with a review of the literature based on 9 cases reported in Korea.

Key Words: Sarcomatoid carcinoma; Cholangiocarcinoma; Liver neoplasm

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