Hepatocellular carcinoma with a three-layered structure

A case report

Abstract

We report a resected case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presenting "nodule in nodule" pattern reflecting a three-layered structure. The patient was a 55-year-oid male with cirrhosis. Histologically, the tumor, which was 2.7×2.2cm in size, cansisted of three layers of HCC tissue with different histologic features. Every boundary of its layers was irregular due to invasive growths of the inner and the outer layers into the intermediate layer. In this case, it was considered that the intermediate layer might have existed first, and the less differentiated tissues of the inner and the outer layer might have developed.