Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the peritoneal cavity: Prolonged survival after debulking surgery and 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) therapy

Primary Peritoneal Hepatoid Adenocarcinoma Patients Treated by Complete Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS) and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is an extremely rare disease, which could develop from any thoraco-abdominal organ and which exhibits features mimicking hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its diagnosis is thus highly challenging, so is the treatment of that disease. So far, 12 cases have been reported in the literature as issued from the peritoneum. These primary peritoneal HAC were associated with a dismal prognosis and heterogenous management. Two additional cases were described here, managed in a multidisciplinary way as rare peritoneal surface malignancies in an expert center, following the strategy based on a comprehensive tumor burden extension assessment and a radical approach combining iterative complete cytoreductive surgeries followed by hyperthermic intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and limited systemic chemotherapy sequences. In particular, the choline PET-CT scan guided surgical exploration to reach a complete resection. The oncologic outcomes were promising with a first patient dying 111 months after the diagnosis and a second patient still alive at 43 months.

Mediastinal Hepatoid Adenocarcinoma Treated With Arterial Interventional Therapy: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is an extremely rare extrahepatic carcinoma, which is pathologically featured by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and marked by producing alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). HAC of mediastinum is extremely rare. For inoperable patients, the curative treatment options have not been established, and the outcome of HAC is usually poor. Here, we present a case of mediastinal HAC with normal serum AFP level who achieved well-controlled and good response after local–regional interventional approach combined with systemic PD-1 inhibitor. A 53-year-old male who complained of chest pain was admitted to our hospital in February 2021. A chest CT scan revealed several tumors in his mediastinum. The laboratory data showed normal serum AFP level. HAC was diagnosed through pathological assessment of biopsy. Surgery was not available due to the infiltration of sternum. Local regional FOLFOX chemotherapy was given by transarterial infusion, followed by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, and thereafter combined with systemic anti-PD-1 treatment. The patient achieved favorable disease control and apparent symptom relief. So transarterial interventional therapy combined immunotherapy may be a possible and promising treatment for mediastinal HAC.

AFP-producing hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) of peritoneum and omentum: a case report and literature review

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is a group of neoplasms with features resembling hepatocellular carcinoma. The stomach is the most commonly affected organ among the reported primary sites. We report the case of a 28-year-old man with chronic hepatitis B and a complaint of abdominal distension. The patient was examined by PET-CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed diffuse thickening of the peritoneum and omentum but no mass was found in the liver. Pathological examination of a biopsy of the omental nodules was consistent with moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); thus, a diagnosis of HAC of the peritoneum and omentum was established. The patient received a chemotherapy regimen consisting of oxaliplatin and capecitabine and gained remarkable effects as the AFP level dropped significantly, and the tumour nearly disappeared. When the patient shifted to the standard multikinase inhibitors, Sorafenib or Lenvatinib, both treatments were ineffective. HAC is a heterogeneous group of prognostically unfavourable tumours mimicking the histological appearance of HCC, and the treatment outcomes are still unclear.

Non-α-fetoprotein-producing adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma typically secretes alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Here, we report a case of non-AFP-producing adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was conducted to identify gene mutations.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 64-year-old man presented with mild back pain and unexplained weight loss for 3 months.

DIAGNOSES

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a mass (9.9 × 9.7 × 9.1 mm) above the upper pole of the left kidney. The left renal artery and vein were compressed. The tumor was positive for CK8/18, CK19, CK7, hepatocyte marker (Hepatocyte), and Hep Par 1, but negative for AFP. Plasma AFP was 2.75 ng/mL (normal range: 0-7 ng/mL). NGS revealed mutations of the following genes: ATM, CDKN2A, EGFR, STK11, TP53, BIM, and MLH1. A diagnosis of adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma was established.

INTERVENTIONS

The treatment included 4 cycles of the mFOLFOX6 regimen (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil), transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, and apatinib.

OUTCOMES

The patient died 9 months after the diagnosis.

LESSONS

This case highlights the importance of thorough clinical, radiological, and immunohistochemical investigation for suspected adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma. Metastasis from other primary tumors should be ruled out. Furthermore, AFP is not necessarily elevated in adrenal hepatoid adenocarcinoma. NGS could be helpful in establishing the diagnosis and selecting treatments.

Hepatoid carcinoma of the pancreas combined with serous cystadenoma: a case report and review of the literature

Pancreatic hepatoid carcinoma (HC) is an extremely uncommon neoplasm of pancreas that resembles hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We report a case of incidentally detected pancreatic HC combined with a serous microcystic cystadenoma, in a 47-year-old man, while he was being evaluated for renal calculi. Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of abdomen revealed a lesion with mild heterogeneous enhancement in the tail of pancreas and another proximal lesion having moderate enhancement, and a calculus in the neck of gallbladder. Serum chromogranin, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 levels were within normal limits. He underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and cholecystectomy. Pathologically the distal tumor was encapsulated and characterized by eosinophilic cytoplasm, vesicular nucleus with prominent nucleolus and intranuclear eosinophilic inclusions. The cells were arranged in trabecular pattern separated by sinusoids. Canalicular and intercellular bile plugs were seen. On immunohistochemistry tumor cells were positive for hepatocyte specific antigen and weakly positive for alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The proximal tumor showed features of serous microcystic adenoma. Based on these findings, the case was diagnosed as hepatoid tumor of pancreas combined with serous microcystic cystadenoma. Post operative AFP was 1.75 IU/mL. The patient is on follow up for the last eight months and there is no evidence of recurrence.

Rare coexistence of mediastinal hepatoid adenocarcinoma, idiopathic azoospermia and horseshoe kidney: a case report and review of the literature

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is the term proposed for a special type of extrahepatic tumors, which is similar to the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) both in the histopathology and immunohistochemistry. HAC has been observed in the stomach, colon, pancreas, gall bladder, lung and female genital tract, but rarely in the mediastinum. Now we describe a case of a 28-year-old Chinese male with primary mediastinal HAC with lung and liver metastasis. In this patient, HAC was associated with horseshoe kidney and idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia. It seemed derivation abnormalities during organogenesis in the embryo stage played a significant role in the pathogenesis of HAC, horseshoe kidney and idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia. Even the pathogenesis was still unknown; it may merit consideration of HAC together with horseshoe kidney and idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia as a syndrome rather than as a spectrum of coincidental diseases. Furthermore, we found the HAC is a neoplasm with unfavorable outcomes despite aggressive and multi-protocol strategies. The serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) should be regarded as a useful marker for diagnostic purposes and therapeutic response evaluation of HAC.