A case of ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma in the jejunum

Abstract

We describe the case of a 72 year-old man with a huge tumor in his lower abdomen and extremely high serum alpha-fetoprotein levels (99,100 ng/ml). The patient had no risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver disease. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and hepatic angiography detected no tumors in the liver before surgery. The arteries feeding the tumor arose from the superior mesenteric artery, but were not recognized on celiac angiography. Histologically, the tumor cells had features of HCC. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the tumor cells were positive for AFP and the hepatocyte paraffin 1 monoclonal antibody. Furthermore, the tumor cells were strongly positive for cytokeratin 8 and cytokeratin 18, which are usually expressed on hepatocytes in HCC, and negative for both cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 20, which are not usually expressed in HCC. Hence, the tumor was diagnosed as an ectopic HCC that possibly developed from ectopic liver tissue in the jejunum. Approximately 2 months after the operation, transarterial chemoembolization was performed for liver metastasis from this tumor. One year after the transarterial chemoembolization procedure, the patient remains well with no evidence of a recurrent tumor or serum AFP elevation.