To investigate the diagnosis and treatments of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with pancreatic cancer.

Clinical data of 1 patient with HCC complicated with pancreatic cancer admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The informed consent of the patient was obtained and the local ethical committee approval was received. The male patient was 43 years old. The liver function was classified as Child-Pugh grade A. He was admitted to hospital due to "pancreatic mass found for 4 d after radiofrequency ablation of HCC for 3 years ". He had a medical history of chronic HBV infection for over 20 years. The patient received ultrasound-guided microwave ablation of HCC 3 years ago. MRI reexamination detected a lesion following HCC ablation and a benign pancreatic tumor. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound revealed no obvious blood perfusion in the intrahepatic ablation lesion and pancreatic cancer with splenic artery invasion. Diagnosis of HCC complicated with pancreatic cancer were made upon admission. After active preoperative preparation, pancreaticosplenectomy was performed in the patient on July 12, 2017.

Postoperative pathological test reported moderately-poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of pancreas complicated with nerve invasion, lymph node metastasis of superior mesenteric artery and splenic artery, and intravascular tumor thrombus. The tumor was assessed as stage ⅡB (T₂N₁M₀). Postoperatively, 6 periods of GX adjuvant chemotherapy were given in the patient. No evident complications occurred during chemotherapy. The tumor-free survival was over 24 months by now.

HCC complicated with pancreatic cancer is probably correlated with chronic hepatitis. Clinical diagnosis can be confirmed mainly by high-quality imaging findings, cytological or histopathological examinations. Radical resection and individualized chemotherapy play a vital role for the long-term tumor-free survival.