Minute mixed hepatoma with two components: hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma, which developed on liver cirrhosis with HCV

Mixed type hepatoma with two components, hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma, is very rare. We encountered a case of a single and minute mixed type hepatoma developing on liver cirrhosis in a patient with persistent hepatitis C viral infection. Histologically, the two-type cancer tissue existed in a nodule with a maximal diameter of approximately 20 mm, and the cholangiocellular carcinoma occupied about 70% of the tumor. The original cell of the mixed type hepatoma is unknown, but this case suggests that a bipotential cell developing into hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma may be the origin.