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Cholangiocarcinoma associated with multiple bile-duct hamartomas of the liver

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Summary

The case of a 61-year-old woman with a surgically resected solitary cholangiocarcinoma of the liver is reported, where many discrete multiple bile duct hamartoma (MBDH) were also seen. The latter is a congenital lesion of the liver that potentially may be confused with widespread metastatic disease. The relationship between cholangiocarcinoma and MBDH was studied histologically by the use of an immunoperoxidase technique for cytokeratin. MBDH was strongly positive for cytokeratin, while the neoplasm showed this to a lesser extent, but a clear continuity between the MBDH epithelial cells and those of the neoplasm was demonstrated by the use of this technic. The potential use for the various cytokeratins in the differentiation of primary from secondary liver tumors, is discussed. This differentiation is a significant problem to the pathologist.

Although cholangiocarcinoma may, on occasion, be associated with various congenital lesions of the bile ducts, the association with MBDH is extremely rare, this being only the third reported case.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pathology and Surgery, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Andrew Dekker MD, Fiebo J. W. Ten Kate MD & Onno T. Terpstra MD

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    Andrew Dekker MD, Fiebo J. W. Ten Kate MD & Onno T. Terpstra MD

Authors
  1. Andrew Dekker MD
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  2. Fiebo J. W. Ten Kate MD
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  3. Onno T. Terpstra MD
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Dekker, A., Kate, F.J.W.T. & Terpstra, O.T. Cholangiocarcinoma associated with multiple bile-duct hamartomas of the liver. Digest Dis Sci 34, 952–958 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01540285

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01540285

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