BACKGROUND: Cholangiocarcinoma complicated by intra-abdominal desmoid- type fibromatosis (DTF) is uncommon. There are no reports on patients with this type of fibromatosis, in which the pre-operative treatment (including diagnosis), surgical approach, post-operative pathologic reports, and prognosis are discussed.
METHOD: The clinicopathological features of a 49-year-old man were retrospectively analyzed.
RESULTS: Cholangiocarcinoma located in the inferior segment of the bile duct was considered pre-operatively on the basis of clinical findings. At the time of pancreaticoduodenectomy, the mesojejunum was stiff without nodules or a mass at a distance of approximately 80 cm from the ligament of Treitz. Complete excision of the entire lesion of the intestinal mesenteric contracture and its subsidiary was performed. Post-operative pathologic findings confirmed an adenocarcinoma located at the extremity of the common bile duct and infiltrating the full thickness of the common bile duct as well as the deep muscular layer of the duodenum. The contracted jejunal mesentery was shown to have DTF. The patient was alive with no evidence of recurrence after a follow-up of 6 months.
CONCLUSIONS: The patient had a rare hereditary disease with intra-abdominal DTF, which manifests the characteristics of an aggressive growth pattern and a high rate of local recurrence; conservative therapy is recommended. Complete excision of the fibromatous lesion during pancreaticoduodenectomy may maximally decrease the risk of local recurrence.