Sequential occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma following Waldenström's macroglobulinemia: the pathogenetic role of chronic liver disease.

We report a case of sequential occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) in the course of chronic liver disease. The diagnosis of WM was made in a 55-year-old man with a history of alcohol abuse. He developed HCC in the course of WM, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Recent reports suggest that persistent HCV infection is related to the pathogenesis of B cell malignancy. Chronic liver disease may be associated with the pathogenesis of the double malignancies in the present case.