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. 2024 May 10:jcp-2024-209572.
doi: 10.1136/jcp-2024-209572. Online ahead of print.

von Meyenburg complexes are more frequently associated with cholangiocarcinoma

Dhanpat Jain  1 , Binny Khandakar  2 , Pu Ni  3 , Barton Kenney  4 , Lihui Qin  5 , Vikram Deshpande  6 , Maria Isabel Fiel  3
Affiliations

von Meyenburg complexes are more frequently associated with cholangiocarcinoma

Dhanpat Jain et al. J Clin Pathol. .

Abstract

Aim: There is some evidence that von Meyenburg complexes (VMCs) can progress to cholangiocarcinoma (CC). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of VMCs in CC cases.

Methods: All hepatic resections and explants with intra-hepatic CC (I-CC) and hilar-CC (H-CC) from 1985 to 2020 were studied. Hepatic resections (n=68) for benign lesions or metastatic colonic carcinoma and 15 cases with cirrhosis without any cancer were used as controls.

Results: A total of 118 cases of CC (88 I-CC, 30 H-CC) were identified. Of these, 61 (52%) patients had no known background liver disease, and 20 (17%) had cirrhosis. Associated liver disorders included metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (23), chronic viral hepatitis B or C (13), biliary disease (primary or secondary sclerosing cholangitis) (8), polycystic kidney disease (6), cryptogenic cirrhosis (5) and others miscellaneous disorders (7). VMCs were present in 34 (39%) of 88 I-CC cases and 7 (23%) of 30 H-CC cases. VMCs were present within the tumour (20 cases), outside the cancer (21 cases) or at both locations (10 cases). VMCs with dysplasia/carcinoma in situ were seen in 19 of 41 (46%) cases with CC and VMCs. In addition, bile duct adenomas were identified in 6 (5%) of CC. 7% of controls showed the presence of VMCs compared with 35% of CC cases (p<0.05).

Conclusions: VMCs are seen far more frequently in patients with CC than in the control group. The findings support the hypothesis that VMCs could represent a precursor of CC or a marker for a higher risk of developing CC.

Keywords: CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA; HAMARTOMA; Liver Neoplasms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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