Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach: A case report and review of the literature.

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma is a rare tumor, associated with an extremely poor prognosis. In the present report, a 72-year-old female presented to Huashan Hospital (Shanghai, China) with upper abdominal discomfort and, following endoscopy, an ulcerated lesion was observed in the stomach. A computed tomography scan revealed a mass in the antrum of the stomach and the α-fetoprotein level was normal. Sections of the mass exhibited malignant cells arranged in a solid to trabecular pattern; the cells were polygonal shaped with well-defined cytoplasmic borders. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed and the cells were positive for Hep1, CK, CK8, CK18 and P53. The histological features together with the immunohistochemical findings were diagnostic of a hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Immunohistochemical studies may aid in the identification of the characteristic features and prevent the misdiagnosis of this tumor.