Concomitant early gallbladder carcinoma with primary sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report

Oncol Lett. 2013 Jun;5(6):1965-1967. doi: 10.3892/ol.2013.1288. Epub 2013 Apr 3.

Abstract

Concomitant primary sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (SHC) with gallbladder carcinoma is a rare type of hepatobillary disease. To the best of our knowledge, this coexistence has rarely been reported. An 80-year-old male presented with right-sided epigastric pain and a low fever. Computed tomography (CT) imaging revealed a hypodense lesion in the right lobe of the liver and a regular intraluminal polypoid mass in the gallbladder. The patient underwent a partial hepatectomy of the right lobe of the liver and a cholecystectomy. Following pathological examination, the patient was diagnosed with SHC combined with gallbladder adenocarcinoma. The patient and his family refused post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The patient succumbed to intrahepatic and lung metastases at six months post-surgery. In conclusion, concomitant gallbladder carcinoma and SHC may occur. Surgery-based multimodal treatment is the preferred strategy for compound tumors. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be necessary for the high risk hepatobiliary malignancies.

Keywords: computed tomography; gallbladder carcinoma; sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma.