Radical resection of hepatic polycystic echinococcosis complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND: Hepatic cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an infectious zoonotic parasitic disease, and the insidious onset and slow progression of hepatic CE usually contributes to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common malignant tumor. Co-existence of CE and HCC is fairly rare in clinical settings and the association between the two is still not well recognized. We report a case of hepatic CE complicated with HCC which are radically resected and raise some questions worth thinking about. CASE SUMMARY: A 70-year-old man presented with upper abdominal pain. On admission, laboratory data showed that, except for hepatitis B surface antigen positivity, other indicators were normal, including alpha-fetoprotein. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a huge polycystic lesion in left liver lobe, without reinforcement after enhanced scanning and sized about 16.9 cm × 12.2 cm, which was considered a type II hydatid cyst. Multiple small solid lesions were also found adjacent to it, and thus it was highly suspected as a malignant tumor. After a multidisciplinary team discussion, the diagnosis of co-occurrence of hepatic CE and HCC was made. According to Romic classification, the case belongs to type IIb, and radical left hemi-hepatectomy was performed. Postoperative pathological examination revealed CE co-existence with well-differentiated HCC, consistent with the preoperative diagnosis. CONCLUSION: With the combination of hepatitis B and obvious extrusion by large hydatid, the HCC risk of a patient might be higher.