Amylase level in extra hepatic bile duct in adult patients with choledochal cyst plus anomalous pancreatico-biliary ductal union

AIM: To investigate the relationship between pancreatic amylase in bile duct and the clinico-pathological features in adult patients with choledochal cyst and anomalous pancreatico-biliary ductal union (APBDU).METHODS: From 39 patients who underwent surgery for choledochal cyst between March 1995 and March 2003,we selected 15 adult patients who had some symptoms and were radiologically diagnosed as APBDU, and their clinico-pathological features were subsequently evaluated retrospectively. However, we could not obtain biliary amylase in all the patients because of the surgeon's slip.Therefore, we measured the amylase level in gall bladder of 10 patients and in common bile duct of 11 patients.RESULTS: Levels of amylase in common bile duct and gall bladder ranged from 11 500 to 212 000 IU/L, and the younger the patients, the higher the biliary amylase level (r= -0.982, P＜0.01). Pathologically, significant correlation was found between the size of choledochal cyst and the grade of inflammation (r= 0.798,P＜0.01). And, significant correlation was found between the level of amylase in gall bladder and the grade of hyperplasia. On the other hand, there was no correlation to the age of symptomatic onset or inflammatory grade (r = 0.743, P＜0.05). Level of lipase was elevated from 6 000 to 159 000 IU/L in bile duct and from 14 400 to 117 000 IU/L in the gall bladder;however, there was no significant correlation with age or clinico-pathological features.CONCLUSION: The results support the notion that amylase has a particular role in the onset of symptoms, and suggest that a large amount of biliary amylase induces early onset of symptom, thereby making early diagnosis possible.

Metastatic liver cancer: A rare case

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor especially when it rises in the peritoneal cavity. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman with an isolated recurrent hemangiopericytoma of the liver. The patient presented with a palpable right upper quadrant abdominal mass, which occurred 7 years after undergoing resection of a malignant hemangiopericytoma arising from the greater omentum. She had not followed up 6 mo after surgery. Various imaging studies showed a single large, well-capsulated liver tumor with central necrosis, accompanied by hypervascularity typical of a vascular tumor. Preoperative laboratory HBsAg and anti-HCV workup were both negative. Under the impression of recurrent malignant hemangiopericytoma, right trisegmentectomy was performed to completely resect the tumor. Pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of recurrent hemangiopericytoma. Even though the incidence of the hemangiopericytoma is relatively low, malignant hemangiopericytoma has a tendency to recur frequently after a long-term disease-free interval. Also, the recurrent hemangiopericytoma is not easily detected early during follow-up until it becomes symptomatic because there are no specific tumor markers, and because of the diversity with regard to site of recurrence. The authors suggest that Positron Emission Tomogram (PET) may be a useful tool for the detection of recurrent hemangiopericytoma. We describe herein some characteristics and behaviors of malignant hemangiopericytoma, particularly after surgical resection.