Papillary Adenocarcinoma of the Gallbladder: A Case Report

Gallbladder carcinoma is a rare cancer often originally diagnosed as other benign gallbladder ailments. Early diagnosis is difficult due to lack of symptoms and half of all cases are only incidentally found during surgery. Unlike adenocarcinoma, the most common pathologic subtype of gallbladder cancer; papillary adenocarcinoma is found in only 3-5% of gallbladder cancer cases and has a tendency for exophytic growth and early manifestation of obstructive symptoms. We present a case of a female presenting with complaints and signs suggestive of choledocholithiasis. However, during surgery, a gallbladder tumor and empyema were discovered, with tumor invasion into the bile duct and the pancreas. The patient subsequently underwent open cholecystectomy and total resection of the gallbladder. Pathologic examination subsequently showed papillary adenocarcinoma subtype of gallbladder carcinoma.