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A case of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma detected after successful interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C

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Abstract

A 65-year-old man presented at our hospital in 2006 because of a liver tumor. He had been treated for chronic hepatitis C with interferon-α2b for 6 months in 1998. A pathological examination showed that the hepatic tissue before interferon (IFN) therapy was classified as moderately active hepatitis with severe hepatic fibrosis. The IFN therapy induced the disappearance of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA from his serum and normalized alanine aminotransferase activity. In 2005, a tumor (2 cm in diameter) was detected in the right lobe of the liver by ultrasonography and computed tomography, and the tumor was stained with contrast medium during abdominal angiography. A right lobectomy was performed under the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathological examination revealed that the tumor was an intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). The noncancerous hepatic tissue was classified as having minimal activity with mild fibrosis. It is important to monitor closely for ICC as well as hepatocellular carcinoma even patients in whom the HCV RNA has disappeared after IFN therapy, because the outcome of treatment for small ICC is favorable.

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Abbreviations

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

ICC:

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

IFN:

Interferon

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AFP:

α-Fetoprotein

PIVKA-II:

Protein induced by the absence of vitamin K or antagonist II

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan

    Hiroji Shinkawa, Shigekazu Takemura, Kazuki Ohba, Takahiro Uenishi, Shintaro Kodai, Yorihisa Urata, Kazuhisa Kaneda, Masayuki Sakae & Shoji Kubo

  2. Department of Surgery, Higashisumiyoshi Morimoto Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    Seikan Hai & Hiromu Tanaka

  3. Department of Pathology, Osaka City University Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    Kenichi Wakasa

Authors
  1. Hiroji Shinkawa
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  2. Seikan Hai
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  3. Hiromu Tanaka
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  4. Shigekazu Takemura
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  5. Kazuki Ohba
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  6. Takahiro Uenishi
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  7. Shintaro Kodai
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  8. Yorihisa Urata
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  9. Kazuhisa Kaneda
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  10. Masayuki Sakae
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  11. Kenichi Wakasa
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  12. Shoji Kubo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroji Shinkawa.

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Shinkawa, H., Hai, S., Tanaka, H. et al. A case of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma detected after successful interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Clin J Gastroenterol 3, 45–49 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-009-0128-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-009-0128-2

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