Case Report
Copyright ©2006 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2006; 12(10): 1641-1644
Published online Mar 14, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i10.1641
Dermatomyositis associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in an elderly female patient with hepatitis C virus-related liver cirrhosis
Nobuyuki Toshikuni, Rikako Torigoe, Mikio Mitsunaga, Akiyoshi Omoto, Koji Nakashima
Nobuyuki Toshikuni, Department of Internal Medicine, Ako Central Hospital, Ako, Japan, Department of Internal Medicine, Himeji Red Cross Hospital, Himeji, Japan
Rikako Torigoe, Department of Dermatology, Ako Central Hospital, Ako, Japan
Mikio Mitsunaga, Akiyoshi Omoto, Koji Nakashima, Department of Internal Medicine, Ako Central Hospital, Ako, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Nobuyuki Toshikuni, Department of Internal Medicine, Himeji Red Cross Hospital, 1-12-1 Shimoteno, Himeji 670-8540, Japan. toshikun@hrc-hp.com
Telephone: +81-79-2942251 Fax: +81-79-2964050
Received: October 11, 2005
Revised: October 24, 2005
Accepted: November 10, 2005
Published online: March 14, 2006
Abstract

A 79-year-old female patient with hepatitis C virus-related liver cirrhosis was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a diameter of 2.0 cm. She refused therapy for HCC. Nine months after the diagnosis, she developed dermatomyositis when the HCC enlarged to a diameter of 6.0 cm. She underwent therapy for dermatomyositis, and then transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for HCC. Although the manifestations of dermatomyositis improved and entire tumor necrosis was achieved, she died of pneumonia 2 mo after the treatment of HCC. HCC and/or chronic hepatitis C virus infection might be involved in the pathogenesis of dermatomyositis.

Keywords: Dermatomyositis; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatitis C virus