Biliary cystadenocarcinoma associated with atrophy of the left hepatic lobe and hepatolithiasis mimicking intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a case report.

Biliary cystadenocarcinoma and its benign counterpart, biliary cystadenoma, are rare hepatic cystic tumors arising from the hepatobiliary epithelium. We report the case of a 68-year-old Taiwanese woman who presented initially with acute cholangitis. A series of imaging studies including abdominal ultrasound, computerized tomography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography showed bilateral intrahepatic duct (IHD) and common bile duct (CBD) stones with IHD and CBD dilatation, and an ill-defined tumor within the atrophied left hepatic lobe. The patient underwent surgical resection of the tumor and choledocholithotomy. The pathologic diagnosis was biliary cystadenocarcinoma. We review this rare disease entity and discuss its unusual radiologic features mimicking intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.