Primary hepatic choriocarcinoma: a rare cause of spontaneous haemoperitoneum in an adult

Primary Pancreatic Choriocarcinoma With Hepatic Metastases on 18 F-FDG PET/CT

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic choriocarcinoma is a rare disease, and concurrent hepatic metastases have not previously been reported. We report a case of a 46-year-old woman with significantly elevated human chorionic gonadotropin β levels, and 18 F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated FDG-avid lesions in the pancreatic head, liver, and lymph nodes. The initial diagnosis of pancreatic choriocarcinoma with metastases was made and further confirmed by PET/CT-guided biopsy. 125 I seeds were then implanted to treat the pancreatic choriocarcinoma lesions, which effectively reduced the tumor size. New hepatic metastases have been observed after 5 months, and this case had an overall survival of 10 months.

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach with metastatic choriocarcinoma of the liver: A case report of a rare subtype of gastric cancer with a complex treatment course

Gastric hepatoid adenocarcinoma and hepatic choriocarcinoma are rare diseases in clinical settings, and the case we report here is a combination of both. A 66-year-old woman presented with a chief complaint of abdominal discomfort. The patient was examined using gastroscopy and computed tomography (CT) scan, and these revealed an irregular surface ulcer on the wall of the gastric antrum. A mass, 2.0 cm in diameter, was found in the liver in April 2020. The endoscopic biopsy findings were consistent with a diagnosis of moderately to poorly differentiated hepatoid adenocarcinoma. She was then referred to our hospital for further treatment. Initially, neoadjuvant therapy was initiated for the patient. The CT scan showed that the liver metastases had progressed; hence, surgery was performed. Postoperative pathology showed that the gastric lesions were mostly hepatoid adenocarcinoma with no choriocarcinoma, while the liver lesions comprised approximately 10% hepatoid adenocarcinoma and 90% choriocarcinoma. One month later, the patient developed tumor recurrence in the liver as observed on CT imaging. Subsequently, a variety of chemotherapy regimens were tried with no obvious results. The patient eventually developed multiple organ metastasis and died in July 2021. The overall survival was 16 months. Based on findings from this case report, it appears that initial neoadjuvant therapy was not effective and radical surgery may be the best treatment for patients with hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach.

[Primary choriocarcinoma of the liver in a 36-year-old male patient. A case report and literature review]

The article presents a case of primary liver choriocarcinoma in a 36-year-old man. The patient was admitted to the hospital with signs of rapidly developing multiple organ failure, in connection with which the diagnosis was verified at autopsy according to histological and immunohistochemical studies. Diagnostic criteria and treatment options for this disease are insufficiently developed due to its rarity. To date, 11 clinical cases of primary choriocarcinoma of the liver in males have been described in the international literature. The article presents a review of the literature, as well as describes all published clinical observations of the disease.

Primary hepatic mixed germ cell tumor in an adult

Primary hepatic mixed germ cell tumor (GCT) is very rare, and less than 10 cases have been reported. We report a case of mixed GCT composed of a choriocarcinoma and yolk sac tumor, which occurred in the liver of a 40-year-old woman. A large mass was detected by computed tomography solely in the liver. Serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was highly elevated, otherwise, other serum tumor markers were slightly elevated or within normal limits. For hepatic choriocarcinoma, neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered, followed by right lobectomy. Histologic features of the resected tumor revealed characteristic choriocarcinoma features with diffuse positivity for hCG in the syncytiotrophoblasts and diffuse positivity for α-fetoprotein and Sal-like protein 4 in the yolk sac tumor components. Primary malignant GCT in the liver is associated with a poor prognosis and requires specific treatment. Therefore, GCT should be considered during a differential diagnosis of a rapidly growing mass in the liver.

Spontaneous intra-abdominal hemorrhage of a well-differentiated, grade 3 gastric neuroendocrine tumor during drug-based treatment

Grade 3, well-differentiated, gastric neuroendocrine tumors (NET G3) are extremely rare. Herein, we report the case of a 64-year-old man with a grade 3 neuroendocrine tumor of the stomach who experienced intra-abdominal bleeding during the course of drug treatment. The patient was referred to our hospital for examination of a gastric tumor that was initially diagnosed by a local medical doctor. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed an elevated lesion with a central ulcer in the upper body of the stomach, and biopsy specimens confirmed the pathological diagnosis of NET G3. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a 25-cm, well-defined mass lesion showing heterogeneous enhancement in the liver. A clinical diagnosis of NET G3 with multiple liver metastases was given, after which everolimus was administered in combination with a somatostatin analogue. However, the patient developed sudden-onset epigastric abdominal pain and general fatigue 2 months later, and emergency abdominal contrast-enhanced CT confirmed the presence of intra-abdominal hemorrhage. Following blood transfusion, the patient's symptoms and general condition improved. Although the patient was treated with streptozocin, abdominal CT indicated progression of the liver metastases. Unfortunately, despite receiving best supportive care, the patient died 8 months after the initial of the treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a patient who developed spontaneous hemoperitoneum during drug treatment for a NET G3 to be reported in the English literature. It is essential that additional data be obtained to determine the optimal treatment for this disease.

Multidisciplinary approach for treatment of primary hepatic choriocarcinoma in adult male patient

Choriocarcinoma is a rare malignant germ cell tumor and it usually occurs in the gonads (ovary or testis) and uterus. Primary hepatic choriocarcinoma (PHC) is a variant of choriocarcinoma featuring sole liver presentation without any evidence of gonodal involvements. Adult male patients with PHC carry dismal prognosis and their median survival period was less than 5 months. We herein present a first Korean case of a 54-year-old male patient with adult PHC, who was treated by surgical resection and chemotherapy through a multidisciplinary approach.

Primary choriocarcinoma of the liver: a rare, but important differential diagnosis of liver lesions

The case of a 64-year-old man with spontaneous acute abdominal bleeding is presented. Under suspicion of an atypical hepatocellular carcinoma an extended left hemihepatectomy was performed. Histological diagnosis after surgical therapy revealed a primary hepatic choriocarcinoma. During follow-up within 5 months several metastases were detected. Because of the number and localization of the metastases, there was no further curative surgical option and palliative systemic chemotherapy was initiated. Primary choriocarcinoma of the liver is an important differential-diagnosis in hypervascularized lesions of the liver. This tumor-entity is highly aggressive, with rapid tendency for metastatic spreading. This correlates with the poor prognosis of 12 months after tumor-detection.

Primary pancreatic choriocarcinoma revealed on FDG PET/CT

Choriocarcinoma is a cancer that usually occurs in the uterus during pregnancy. Extragonadal choriocarcinoma, although very rare, can occur. The diagnostic dilatation and curettage of the uterus in a 28-year-old woman who had vaginal bleeding and elevated human chorionic gonadotrophin level failed to identify any abnormality. FDG PET/CT revealed abnormal activity in the head of the pancreas. Pathological examination after partial pancreatectomy demonstrated primary choriocarcinoma in the pancreas.