Hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma, double cancer of the liver: report of two cases resected synchronously and metachronously.

Double primary liver cancer, i.e., hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC), was detected by ultrasound (US) during the follow-up of chronic liver disease, and was safely resected in two patients, one synchronously and the other metachronously. On admission, laboratory data were normal except for slightly abnormal liver function tests. One patient (case 1) had a 5.1-cm white firm CCC with several small daughter lesions around it which was enhanced late in computed tomography, and a 2.1-cm well-circumscribed HCC with a pseudocapsule; the two were situated very close to one another in the right posterior segment of the liver. Another patient (case 2) had a small 1.5-cm CCC in the anterior superior area, and 6 yr after the first resection, alpha-fetoprotein gradually increased and a 4-cm HCC was detected anew and resected; the preoperative diagnosis made by US and ethiadol-computed tomography was correct. The histopathological diagnosis of the noncancerous portion was chronic active hepatitis in both cases. However, it changed to precirrhosis in case 2 during the follow-up.