A Successfully Treated Case of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma with Exacerbation of Dermatomyositis

Dermatomyositis (DM) is often found in conjunction with malignant tumors such as lung, cervical, and breast cancer. However, the association with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is extremely rare. Moreover, to our knowledge, there have been no previous reports of DM discovered because of exacerbation of DM. Our case was a 44-year-old female with dry cough, myalgia, and arthralgia. We performed hepatic resection for intrahepatic ICC. She was diagnosed with DM, and combination treatment with prednisolone and tacrolimus was started. During outpatient visits, her symptoms worsened, and she was hospitalized due to deterioration of her primary disease. On detailed examination, a malignant lesion in the liver was discovered. After operation, the symptoms of DM remain stable by taking prednisolone and tacrolimus. The patient was suspected to have paraneoplastic syndrome, which was discovered due to the exacerbation of the DM that was caused by the intrahepatic ICC

Simultaneous Resection for Synchronous Double Primary Cancers of the Pancreas and the Liver

Simultaneous resection of synchronous hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is extremely rare. Case 1 is a 64-year-old woman, who had undergone anterior resection for rectal cancer 3 years earlier was pointed out to have a cystic tumor in the pancreatic tail and a solitary tumor in the liver. CT revealed a hypovascular tumor in the pancreatic tail and a liver tumor with early enhancement. With a diagnosis of simultaneous HCC and PDAC, she underwent laparotomy, in which intraoperative frozen section examination of the liver was compatible with HCC. Therefore, she underwent hepatic resection as well as distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 and remains well with no evidence of tumor recurrence as of 28 months after resection. Case 2 is a 73-year-old man with sustained viral response to antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus, who was pointed out to have a tumor in the pancreatic head and a solitary tumor in the liver. Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI exhibited enhancement compatible with HCC. With a diagnosis of concomitant HCC and PDAC, surgery was performed. Intraoperative frozen section examination was compatible with HCC, for which a pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 and remains well with no evidence of tumor recurrence as of 16 months after resection. In conclusion, we describe 2 cases of hepato-pancreatectomy for synchronous double primary cancers of the pancreas and the liver, where exclusion of the liver tumor as a metastatic lesion from the pancreatic cancer is important

Histopathologically Proven Autoimmune Pancreatitis Mimicking Neuroendocrine Tumor or Pancreatic Cancer

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) can be difficult to distinguish from pancreatic cancer. We report a case of histopathologically proven AIP mimicking neuroendocrine tumor (NET) or pancreatic cancer in a 53-year-old man. He was referred to our hospital for further evaluation of a pancreatic mass detected on ultrasonography at a medical check-up. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a 15-mm hypoechoic mass located in the pancreatic body. Computed tomography revealed a tumor without any contrast enhancement, and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the mass to be hyperintense on diffusion-weighted image. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed slight dilatation of a branch of the pancreatic duct without stricture of the main pancreatic duct. The common bile duct seemed intact. Under suspicion of a non-functioning NET or malignant neoplasm, laparotomy was performed. At laparotomy, an elastic firm and well-circumscribed mass was found suggestive of a non-functioning NET, thus enucleation was performed. Histopathologically, the lesion corresponded to AIP

Renal Infarction during Anticoagulant Therapy after Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Introduction: Liver transplant recipients are at risk for complications of vascular thrombosis. The reconstructed hepatic artery and portal vein thrombosis potentially result in hepatic failure and graft loss. Renal infarction is a rare clinical condition, but in severe cases, it may lead to renal failure. We herein report a case of renal infarction after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) during anticoagulant therapy. Case Presentation: A 60-year-old woman with end-stage liver disease due to primary biliary cholangitis underwent LDLT with splenectomy. Postoperatively, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroid were used for initial immunosuppression therapy. On postoperative day (POD) 5, enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed splenic vein thrombosis, and anticoagulant therapy with heparin followed by warfarin was given. Follow-up enhanced CT on POD 20 incidentally demonstrated right renal infarction. The patient’s renal function was unchanged and the arterial flow was good, and the splenic vein thrombosis resolved. At 4 months postoperatively, warfarin was discontinued, but she developed recurrent splenic vein thrombosis 11 months later, and warfarin was resumed. As of 40 months after transplantation, she discontinued warfarin and remains well without recurrence of splenic vein thrombosis or renal infarction. Conclusion: Renal infarction is a rare complication of LDLT. In this case, renal infarction was incidentally diagnosed during anticoagulant therapy and was successfully treated