Immunotherapy as adjuvant therapy for a patient with adenosquamous carcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is a rare histological type of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which includes both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The clinical features, physical examination, routine laboratory tests, and imaging examinations of patients with ASC are nonspecific. ASC is easily misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma, and patients with ASC always have a poor prognosis. This study reports a patient with ASC who was diagnosed based on pathological results, underwent surgical resection, and received postoperative chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) combined with immunotherapy (sintilimab). During the 1-year follow-up, the patient was in good condition, and no signs of cancer recurrence were noted. This case highlights that surgical resection and chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy may be feasible for patients with ASC.

Keywords

• Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC)
• Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)
• Adjuvant therapy
• Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)
• Immunotherapy
• Chemotherapy