The authors experienced three cases of cholangiocarcinoma associated with profuse mucin production. We intended to review and summarize the clinical features of these patients to emphasize the clinical importance of mucin-producing cholangiocarcinoma. All patients were female. Symptoms were mainly right upper quadrant pain and jaundice. Diagnosis was made by characteristic endoscopic retrograde cholangiographic findings and computed tomography. Bile ducts were dilatated and obstructive jaundice had developed as a result of the accumulation of mucin realeased by the tumor. Treatments were hepatic lobectomies for two intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients and extrahepatic bile duct resection and hepaticojejunostomy for one patient. There was no postoperative complication. Pathologies were well differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma in two cases. Two patients are still living without recurrence for over three and four years respectively. One patient who had T4 lesion died of recurrence 38 months after operation. Conclusively, aggressive surgical treatment may be justified in the treatment of mucin hypersecreting cholangiocarcinoma even in advanced stage in view of the favorable outcome after radical operation. Further study is needed to clarify its biological behavior.
Adenocarcinoma, Papillary ; Bile Ducts ; Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Jaundice, Obstructive* ; Mucins ; Pathology ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence

No abstract available.
Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lithiasis/*etiology/pathology/surgery ; Liver Diseases/*etiology/pathology/surgery ; Middle Aged

Inflammatory pseudotumor is an uncommon mass which develops most frequently in the lung of young adults. It is characterized by localized fibrous proliferations with chronic inflammatory cell infiltration. Due to its rarity and similarity in radiologic appearance with malignant hepatic tumors, hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor (HIPT) is often misdiagnosed and resected accidentally. We report a case of HIPT which was unnecessarily resected due to synchronous small peripheral cholangiocarcinoma located on the other segment of liver.
Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Cholangiocarcinoma/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Fatal Outcome ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Humans ; Liver Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma arising from the bile duct is extremely rare and the reported imaging features do not differ from those of cholangiocarcinoma of the bile duct. We report a case of a patient with extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), who presented with obstructive jaundice and describe the distinctive radiologic features that may suggest the correct preoperative diagnosis of primary lymphoma of the bile duct. Primary MALT lymphoma of the extrahepatic bile duct should be considered in the differential diagnosis when there is a mismatch in imaging findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging and cholangiography.
Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/radiography ; *Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic ; Cholangiocarcinoma/diagnosis ; Cholangiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive/complications/diagnosis ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone/complications/*diagnosis/radiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Subcapsular hematoma is a very rare complication of liver abscess. We report a case of liver abscess with subcapsular hematoma mimicking ruptured hepatic cholangiocarcinoma. A 59-year old man presented with right upper quadrant pain and febrile sense. Computed tomography showed a low attenuated mass with extensive subcapsular hematoma on the right hepatic lobe. The initial impression was a hematoma caused by the rupture of cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatic arteriography was performed, but no active bleeding focus was found. After drainage of the subcapsular hematoma, a hematoma wall biopsy through the drainage catheter and a liver biopsy of the low attenuated mass were performed. The biopsies showed many neutrophils, macrophages, and granulation tissues consistent with an abscess, but no malignant cells were detected. After antibiotics therapy for 6 weeks, computed tomography was performed 4 months later, and revealed complete resolution of the hematoma and the low attenuated hepatic lesion.
Angiography ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Cholangiocarcinoma/diagnosis ; Hematoma/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Humans ; Liver Abscess/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Liver Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Biliary drainage in patients with malignant biliary obstruction relieves jaundice and prevents the development of cholangitis or hepatic failure from biliary obstruction. Therefore, this may result in better quality of life along with survival prolongation. Biliary stent placement is an effective and safe measure for biliary decompression and is preferred than bypass surgery in high risk patients. Entero-biliary perforation-communication is one of the rare complications of biliary stent. We herein report a case of duodeno-biliary perforation-communication in patient with distal cholangiocarcinoma who presented with duodenal ulcer and obstruction, occurring 4 years later from the metallic biliary stent insertion. Patient was managed with a pyloric metal stent and conservative care.
Aged, 80 and over ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/pathology ; Biliary Fistula/*diagnosis/etiology/pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma/complications/*diagnosis ; Duodenal Diseases/*diagnosis/etiology/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Fistula/*diagnosis/etiology/pathology ; Stents/*adverse effects ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Liver fluke disease is a chronic parasitic inflammatory disease of the bile ducts. Infection occurs through ingestion of fluke-infested, fresh-water raw fish. The most well-known species that cause human infection are Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis viverrini and Opisthorchis felineus. Adult flukes settle in the small intrahepatic bile ducts and then they live there for 20-30 years. The long-lived flukes cause long-lasting chronic inflammation of the bile ducts and this produces epithelial hyperplasia, periductal fibrosis and bile duct dilatation. The vast majority of patients are asymptomatic, but the patients with heavy infection suffer from lassitude and nonspecific abdominal complaints. The complications are stone formation, recurrent pyogenic cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma. Approximately 35 million people are infected with liver flukes throughout the world and the exceptionally high incidence of cholangiocarcinoma in some endemic areas is closely related with a high prevalence of liver fluke infection. Considering the impact of this food-borne malady on public health and the severe possible clinical consequences, liver fluke infection should not be forgotten or neglected.
Animals ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/*diagnosis/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/*parasitology ; Biological Markers/analysis ; Cholangiocarcinoma/*diagnosis/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Cholangitis/diagnosis/parasitology ; Clonorchiasis/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Clonorchis sinensis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Opisthorchiasis/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Opisthorchis

No abstract available.
Animals ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/*diagnosis/parasitology/pathology ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Cholangiocarcinoma/*diagnosis/parasitology/pathology ; Clonorchiasis/*complications/pathology ; Clonorchis sinensis/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are several methods for obtaining tissue samples to diagnose malignant biliary strictures during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). However, each method has only limited sensitivity. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a combined triple-tissue sampling (TTS) method (on-site bile aspiration cytology, brush cytology, and forceps biopsy). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 168 patients with suspicious malignant biliary strictures who underwent double-tissue sampling (DTS; n=121) or TTS (n=47) via ERCP at our institution from 2004 to 2011. RESULTS: Among the 168 patients reviewed, 117 patients (69.6%) were eventually diagnosed with malignancies. The diagnostic sensitivity for cancer was significantly higher in the TTS group than the DTS group (85.0% vs 64.9%, respectively; p=0.022). Furthermore, the combination of brush cytology and forceps biopsy was superior to the other method combinations in the DTS group. With respect to cancer type (cholangiocarcinoma vs noncholangiocarcinoma), interestingly, the diagnostic sensitivity was higher for cholangiocarcinoma in the TTS group than the DTS group (100% vs 69.4%, respectively; p<0.001) but not for the non-cholangiocarcinoma patients (57.1% vs 57.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: TTS can provide an improved diagnostic accuracy in suspicious malignant biliary strictures, particularly for cholangiocarcinoma.
Aged ; Ampulla of Vater/*pathology ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/diagnosis/pathology ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/*pathology ; Biopsy/*methods ; Biopsy, Needle ; Carcinoma/complications/diagnosis/pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde/*methods ; Cholestasis/etiology ; Common Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

An 80-year-old woman with hilar cholangiocarcinoma was hospitalized due to sudden-onset abdominal pain. Computed tomography revealed hepatic necrosis accompanied with emphysematous change in the superior segment of the right liver (S7/S8), implying spontaneous rupture, based on the presence of perihepatic free air. Although urgent percutaneous drainage was performed, neither pus nor fluids were drained. These findings suggest emphysematous hepatitis with a hepatic mass. Despite the application of intensive care, the patient's condition deteriorated rapidly, and she died 3 days after admission to hospital. Liver gas has been reported in some clinical diseases (e.g., liver abscess) to be caused by gas-forming organisms; however, emphysematous hepatitis simulating emphysematous pyelonephritis is very rare. The case reported here was of fatal emphysematous hepatitis in a patient with hilar cholangiocarcinoma.
Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/complications/diagnosis ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/pathology ; Cefotaxime/therapeutic use ; *Cholangiocarcinoma/complications/diagnosis ; Clostridium Infections/drug therapy/microbiology ; Clostridium perfringens/isolation & purification ; Emphysema/complications/*diagnosis ; Escherichia coli/isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli Infections/drug therapy/microbiology ; Female ; Hepatitis/complications/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Metronidazole/therapeutic use ; *Pneumoperitoneum/complications/diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed