Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: case report and review of literature
Keywords:
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, Liver ResectionAbstract
Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare primary hepatic cancer that poses a challenge to early diagnosis and curative treatment. The prognosis is poor if untreated. There is a paucity of literature on intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in Nigeria. Here, we report a case of an early ICC who had a segmental resection of the liver at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital with a good outcome.
Aim and objective: To highlight the essential steps in the diagnosis and treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and demonstrate that liver resections can be performed safely in our setting.
Case report: We present a 45-year-old woman with a peripheral intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. She had an MRI which revealed a unifocal lesion in segments V and VI. Reports of assay of Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and Ca 19-9 showed normal values. She had resection of segments V and VI with lymphadenectomy of the hilar lymph nodes. The margins of resection were free of mitotic lesions and the lymph nodes revealed reactive hyperplasia on histologic analysis. She had a course of adjuvant Capecitabine therapy. After 18 months of follow-up, there were no clinical or radiologic (MRI) signs of tumour recurrence.
Conclusion: The case presented is to the best of our knowledge the first reported case of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma that was managed with good outcome in Nigeria. It highlighted an alignment with the known standard of care for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and, the first major liver resection in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Early diagnosis and adequate surgical resection may provide the only hope of prolonging survival and possibly achieving a cure.
Keywords: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; Liver cancer; Liver resection.
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