Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Rationale: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (SHC) is a rare malignant tumor composed of both carcinoma and sarcoma components. It has atypical clinical symptoms and a high degree of malignancy, with rapid progression and a poor prognosis. Patient concerns: A 63-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of fatigue present for more than 1 month and fever for 10 days. Diagnoses: This patient underwent an upper abdominal MRI plain scan and enhanced scan showed a solid tumor in the right lobe of the liver, with a size of approximately 4.7 cm × 4.0 cm × 6.5 cm, present as low signal on T1WI, slightly high signal on T2WI, and heterogeneous high signal on DWI. Multi-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced MR scan showed significant enhancement in the arterial phase and low enhancement in the portal and delayed phases. The pathology showed the tumor cells to be positive for cytokeratin (CK), Vimentin, EMA, CD34, cyclinD1, negative for CK8, CK19, CK20, SMA, Desmin, S-100, CD117, Dog-1, Hepar-1, SOX-10 and ALK, and Ki-67 approximately 50%, which confirmed the diagnosis of SHC. Interventions: Laparoscopic right posterior lobe of liver resection was conducted, and the postoperative pathology revealed the presence of SHC. Outcomes: The patient was discharged 9 days after the surgery without any complications. There has been no evidence of recurrence at the 1 month, however bilateral pleural metastases appeared during the follow-up 3 months after surgery. Lessons: SHC is a rare and aggressive liver cancer. So far, there is still a lack of effective therapeutic strategy, and the prognosis was dismal even though patients received radical surgical resection.