Clinical characteristics of Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the lung: Four case reports and literature review

Abstract

Purpose: Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the lung (HAL) is a rare form of lung cancer, which is characterized by its morphologic hepatoid features. The clinical characteristics and prognosis of this rare form of lung cancer remain obscure.

Methods: The clinical courses of four cases of HAL were reported. A literature search was performed up to December 31, 2020, using the electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science.

Results: Including the present 4 cases, a total of 42 cases of HAL have been reported in the literature. The median age was 58.5 years old (range, 36-73 years). 36 (85.7%) patients were male. 26 (61.9%) patients had a history of smoking, the median amount of smoking was 40 pack years (range, 8-180). The most common site of the primary tumor was the right upper lobe (22 cases, 52.3%) and the left upper lobe (10 cases, 23.8%). 21 patients (50%) had pretreatment serum AFP levels higher than the upper limit, and 4 patients (9.5%) had normal pretreatment serum AFP levels. Treatment of HAL included surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), anti-angiogenesis therapy, and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibody. Overall, the prognosis of HAL was poor, with median overall survival (OS) of 14 months.

Conclusions: HAL is an aggressive tumor, with a poor prognosis and male predominance, which tends to occur in heavy smokers and affects the right upper lobe of the lung.

Keywords: Carcinoma; Hepatoid; Lung.