HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA WITH CHONDROSARCOMATOUS VARIATION

An autopsy case of hepatocellular carcinoma with a sarcomatous component in a 63-year-old woman was described. A massive tumor measuring 15 times 15 times 10 cm almost replaced the left lobe of the liver and extended to the right atrium of the heart. Histologically the tumor was a typical hepatocellular carcinoma of adult type, except in the central portion where there was gradual replacement of the carcinoma by spindle-shaped atypical cells with areas of chondrosarcomatous tissue. Some of the spindle cells were immunohisto-chemically positive for keratin, and the sarcomatous component was not found in the metastatic foci of liver and lungs. Reported cases of mixed hepatic tumor of adults in the literature were reviewed, and discussion was made concerning the nosology of the present tumor. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 37:1165 -1173, 1987.