Primary hepatic carcinosarcoma: a case report with insights from retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics and prognostic factors

Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Jan 10:11:1470419. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1470419. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Primary hepatic carcinosarcoma (HCS) is an extremely rare malignant tumor with carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. Few reported cases of HCS exist, especially with sufficient records to describe imaging and pathological features, making the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of HCS a significant challenge for physicians. Here, we report a case of HCS with spontaneous rupture as the initial symptom in a 77-year-old elderly male who was admitted with right upper abdominal pain for 8 days. The computed tomography enhancement scan revealed one intrahepatic enhancement with mixed density and a massive, enhanced shadow located mainly outside the liver. We performed a hepatectomy of segment 4 through a laparotomy. The postoperative pathology results demonstrated HCS. The patient recovered smoothly and was discharged after surgery. However, the patient experienced a recurrence and died 5 months after surgery. This case underscores the importance of identifying high-risk populations and personalized treatment strategies in HCS cases.

Keywords: case report; liver tumor; nomogram; primary hepatic carcinosarcoma; prognosis; risk factors.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the Project of Medical and Health Technology Development Program in Shandong Province (No. 202104081018) and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Science and Technology in Shandong Province (M-2023092).