Prolonged Survival of a Patient with Advanced-Stage Combined Hepatocellular-Cholangiocarcinoma

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Sven H. Loosen - , University Hospital Duesseldorf, RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Nadine T. Gaisa - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Maximilian Schmeding - , Klinikum Dortmund gGmbH (Author)
  • Christoph Heining - , National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden, German Cancer Consortium (Partner: DKTK, DKFZ), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Sebastian Uhrig - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Theresa H. Wirtz - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Sebastian Kalverkamp - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Jan Spillner - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Frank Tacke - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Albrecht Stenzinger - , Heidelberg University , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Hanno Glimm - , National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden, German Cancer Consortium (Partner: DKTK, DKFZ), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Stefan Fröhling - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Christian Trautwein - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Christoph Roderburg - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Thomas Longerich - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Ulf Peter Neumann - , RWTH Aachen University, Maastricht University Medical Centre (UMC+) (Author)
  • Tom Luedde - , University Hospital Duesseldorf, RWTH Aachen University (Author)

Abstract

Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC/CCA) represents a rare type of primary liver cancer with a very limited prognosis. Although just recently genomic studies have contributed to a better understanding of the disease's genetic landscape, therapeutic options, especially for advanced-stage patients, are limited and often experimental, as no standardized treatment protocols have been established to date. Here, we report the case of a 38-year-old male patient who was diagnosed with extensive intrahepatic cHCC/CCA in an otherwise healthy liver without signs of chronic liver disease. An interdisciplinary stepwise therapeutic approach including locoregional liver-targeted therapy, systemic chemotherapy, liver transplantation, surgical pulmonary metastasis resection, and next-generation sequencing-based targeted therapy led to a prolonged overall survival beyond 5 years with an excellent quality of life. This case report comprises several provocative treatment decisions that are extensively discussed in light of the existing literature on this rare but highly aggressive malignancy.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)658-667
Number of pages10
JournalCase Reports in Gastroenterology
Volume14
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Chemotherapy, Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma, Liver transplantation, Next-generation sequencing, Targeted therapy