Cystadenomas of the liver: a spectrum of disease.

Objectives: To describe the wide variation in presentation of cystadenomas of the liver and to delineate useful tests for diagnosis and effective surgical treatment.
Design: A case series.
Setting: A university-affiliated hospital.
Patients: Four patients (3 women, 1 man) having cystadenoma of the liver, 2 of whom had associated mesenchymal stroma.
Main Outcome Measures: Serum and cyst fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9 levels, type of surgery, morbidity and recurrence rates.
Results: Cyst fluid CEA and CA19-9 levels were elevated. One patient had resection, 2 had complete enucleation and 1 had partial enucleation. There were no deaths. Morbidity included 1 wound infection; there were no biliary fistulas. The patient with partial enucleation had a radiologically confirmed recurrence.
Conclusions: Analysis of cyst fluid CEA and CA19-9 is useful for diagnosis; besides hepatic resection, complete enucleation should be considered as a reasonable treatment for patients with this disease.