Carcinosarcoma of the liver

Fayyazi, Afshin; Nolte, W.; Oestmann, Joerg W.; Sattler, B; Ramadori, Giuliano; Radzun, H. J.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2559.1998.0401j.x

Cited by 40 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…18,19 Although the histogenesis of SpCC has long been a matter of speculation, the following hypothesis has been proposed. [20][21][22] True carcinosarcoma is derived from totipotent stem cells, which separately differentiate into epithelial and sarcomatous cells. In contrast, SpCC is a morphologic variant of carcinoma which is transformed to sarcomatous features.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma of the gallbladder presenting as a liver tumor

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma (SpCC) of the gallbladder is extremely rare. There is very little information available regarding the characteristics and treatment of this disease. We herein report the unique case of a 76-year-old female patient with a primary SpCC of the gallbladder that presented as a liver tumor. Preoperative radiologic examinations showed a 5-cm liver tumor around the gallbladder bed, and irregular thickening of the gallbladder wall. The patient underwent en-bloc resection of the gallbladder and segments 4b and 5 of the liver (including the liver tumor). Microscopic findings revealed that both lesions consisted mainly of a sarcomatous spindle-shaped component. Small foci of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma cells were identified in the gallbladder mucosa. There was a gradual transition between the two different components, thereby implying that these two cell types had a common origin. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the spindle-shaped cells were epithelial in nature. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful. However, she died of recurrent liver disease 6 months after the surgery. In conclusion, we surmised that the sarcomatous spindle cells originated from a carcinomatous component in the gallbladder mucosa through dedifferentiation. Further studies are needed to better understand the characteristics of this deadly tumor, and to establish an effective therapy for it.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma of the gallbladder presenting as a liver tumor

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…11 The incidence of this neoplasm is so rare that, until now, less than 20 cases have been reported within English literature. 1,2,7,8,12,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,24 Liver carcinosarcoma carries a very poor prognosis and is associated with a high frequency of extrahepatic metastasis. In addition, the pathogenesis of the sarcomatous element of this neoplasm has not yet been fully clarified.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary Carcinosarcoma of the Liver: Clinicopathologic Features of 5 Cases and a Review of the Literature

Lao

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2007

American Journal of Surgical Pathology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carcinosarcoma of the liver is very rare worldwide. The terminology and pathogenesis of hepatic carcinosarcoma remain controversial issues. In this article, we studied the clinicopathologic features of 5 cases of hepatic carcinosarcomas (matching the World Health Organization definition), analyzed the clinical data, histologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) results, and discussed the terminology, pathologic differential diagnoses, pathogenesis, and prognosis. The patients were 40 to 68 years old, and included 4 males and 1 female. All patients were Hepatitis B surface antigen positive with para-tumorous cirrhosis. The largest dimensions of the neoplasms ranged from 6.0 to 14.0 cm. Satellite nodules, portal vein tumor thrombi, direct invasion into local tissues (right diaphragm, right adrenal gland, and gastric wall) as well as metastatic foci in lungs and abdominal lymph nodes were identified. Pathologically, the neoplasms consisted of carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. The carcinomatous components were exclusively conventional hepatocellular carcinomas in all 5 cases, whereas the sarcomatous components exhibited complex features. Confirmed by IHC studies, the sarcomatous elements in different cases included rhabdomyosarcomas, malignant fibrous histiocytomas, fibrosarcoma, and poorly differentiated spindle cells without distinctive differentiation. Furthermore, the sarcomatous elements in these 5 neoplasms stained negative for all the epithelial markers we applied for IHC staining, which support the pathologic diagnosis of carcinosarcoma rather than sarcomatoid carcinoma. The presence of transitional zones between carcinomatous and sarcomatous components may support the transformation theory. Four patients with palliative hepatectomy died within 6 months, whereas 1 patient is still alive 21 months after radical resection. The poor prognosis of hepatic carcinosarcoma may be due to their highly invasive and metastatic features. Radical resection of early stage hepatic carcinosarcoma may contribute to a relatively optimistic prognosis.

show abstract

“…the nature of carcinosarcoma as 'combination' tumor and 'conversion' tumor (11). Some authors argue that carcinosarcoma arise from a multipotent hepatic progenitor or stem cell, which may differentiate into both carcinomatous and sarcomatous neoplasms to produce a 'combination' tumor (7,14). In support of this view, Thompson at al demonstrated a monoclonal origin of carcinosarcomas by two independent methods of clonality determination, supporting the single totipotential stem-cell-divergence hypothesis of carcinosarcoma (20).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While it has been demonstrated that carcinosarcoma could arise from a variety of tissues including the esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas and uterus, primary carcinosarcoma of the liver is very rare; as far as we could identify, only 18 case reports in the English language literature have demonstrated primary carcinosarcoma of the liver to date (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), yet the number of case reports has recently been increasing (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), probably due to the increased recognition of the tumor. The epidemiology and risk factors have not yet been determined, and apparently the prognosis is poor except for cases in whom curative resection is performed (18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carcinosarcoma of the Liver

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Herein we present a 73-year-old man with primary carcinosarcoma of the liver, a rare malignant tumor of the liver. The case was followed up due to HBV-related liver cirrhosis. Regular check-up by ultrasound demonstrated a hyperechoic tumor in the left lobe of the liver, and he was referred and admitted to our hospital. Dynamic CT studies revealed a mostly hypoenhancing hepatic mass with a peripheral ring enhancement. Surgical resection was performed, and the resected tumor was macroscopically a simple nodular type, 3 cm in diameter, with a dense fibrous capsule. Microscopically, undifferentiated cells were dominant in the tumor, while moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were also observed. A transitional zone was noted between the undifferentiated tumor and HCC. Tumor tissue with adenocarcinoma, osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma were also detected. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that tumor cells were HepPar 1 positive in hepatocellular carcinoma, and CK19 and partly CK7 positive in adenocarcinoma. Moreover, CD 56, chromogranin A and c-kit were occasionally positive in undifferentiated tumor cells. The diagnosis of carcinosarcoma was made based on the concomitant presence of HCC and sarcomatous components, yet it is noteworthy that various types of tumor cells were observed.

show abstract

Carcinosarcoma of the liver

Cited by 40 publications

References 3 publications

Primary undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma of the gallbladder presenting as a liver tumor

Primary undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma of the gallbladder presenting as a liver tumor

Primary Carcinosarcoma of the Liver: Clinicopathologic Features of 5 Cases and a Review of the Literature

Carcinosarcoma of the Liver

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About