A resected case of hepatocellular carcinoma which developed during a follow-up of lupoid hepatitis

A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to liver dysfunction in 1979. Liver biopsy revealed mild chronic active hepatitis (CAH). In 1980 she was diagnosed aS autoimmune hepatitis since serum γ-globulin level was 2.4 g/dl, various serum autoantibodies were positive and liver histology showed active liver cirrhosis (initial stage) with lymphoid follicles. She was treated with prednisolone and 6-MP. But peritoneoscopy in 1983 revealed complete liver cirrhosis of posthepatitic type. LE cell phenomenon was positive at this time. Since then she was followed-up as lupoid hepatitis. A level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) started to rise in 1985 and various imaging studies indicated the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the lateral segment (S3) of the left hepatic lobe. In September 1985 hepatic subsegmentectomy (S3) was performed. The operation was a curative resection. The resected tumor of 1cm in diameter was a hepatocellular carcinoma of Edmondson type II. There has been no sign of recurrence since the operation.