Surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
OBJECTIVE
Surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have rarely been described and the clinicopathological characteristics of HCC and non-cancerous liver tissue are still obscure.


METHODS
From 1997 to 2004, 242 patients with HCC underwent hepatic resection at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic Bomb Survivors' Hospital. Among this group, the diagnosis of NASH was made in 3 patients.


RESULTS
All 3 patients with HCC had cirrhosis. The tumor cells contained Mallory bodies and fat. The non-cancerous areas showed nodular regeneration with fatty changes, ballooning degeneration, and mild inflammatory infiltrates, as well as perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with NASH and cirrhosis may progress to HCC, and careful follow-up based on tumor markers and imaging modalities, is essential to detect resectable HCC in patients with NASH and cirrhosis.
Maeda
Takashi
T
Department of Surgery, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima 730-8619, Japan. tksmaeda@hotmail.com
Hashimoto
Koji
K
Kihara
Yuki
Y
Ikegami
Toru
T
Ishida
Teruyoshi
T
Aimitsu
Shiomi
S
Fujiwara
Megumu
M
D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged