Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy of hepatic papillary cystadenocarcinoma in Caroli's disease

A case of papillary adenocarcinoma arising in Caroli's disease (CD) in a 25‐yr‐old woman is reported. The diagnosis of malignancy was made by ultrasound‐guided, fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). As there were no metastasis, a liver transplant was performed and the diagnosis was histologically confirmed. Only 22 cases of malignant transformation of CD have been reported to date, all among middle‐aged subjects (mean age: 52 yr) of both sexes. Most of these reported cases (83%) were found to be bile duct adenocarcinomas with occasional reports of hepatocellular and undifferentiated carcinomas. Our case is the youngest reported to date and the first to be diagnosed cytologically. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Copyright © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company