Extra-Hepatic Hepatoid Carcinomas in Female Reproductive System: Three Case-Reports with a Literature Review

Abstract

Purpose

Hepatoid carcinoma of the ovary (HCO) and hepatoid carcinoma of the uterus (HCU) are rare malignancies that can be difficult to distinguish from other diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma. In extremely rare cases, patients are negative for α-fetoprotein (AFP) by immunohistochemistry. Here we report 3 cases of HC of the female reproductive system, including 1 that was negative for AFP.

Patients and Methods

Three women aged 48, 56, and 67 years were treated at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University for HCO or HCU. We describe these cases in detail, including clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome, and review similar cases reported in the literature.

Results

All of our patients underwent surgery including hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy, and were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. One patient died 3 months after the operation, and the other 2 are alive 22 and 63 months post surgery.

Conclusion

The first-choice treatment for HCO and HCU is staging surgery, which should be followed by platinum-based chemotherapy.

Keywords:

• HCO
• HCU
• therapy
• prognosis

Ethics Statement

All patients (or next of kin for the deceased patient) provided written informed consent for the case details and images to be published. This research was conducted according to the guidelines put forth in the Declaration of Helsinki. Institutional approval to publish the case details is exempt.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.