Hepatocellular carcinoma associated with erythrocytosis. A nine year survival after successful chemotherapy and left lateral hepatectomy.

A case of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with erythrocytosis is described. The patient was successfully treated with a combination chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, cyclophosphamide and chromomycin A3, which was followed by a left lateral hepatectomy, and has survived for more than 9 years after the operation without any signs of recurrence. With the regression of hepatic tumor by the anticancer chemotherapy, the remission of erythrocytosis was observed, indicating that the tumor was producing erythropoietin. The data suggest also that erythrocytosis could be a marker for evaluation of chemotherapeutic effects in some patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.