Case Report
Copyright ©2006 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 28, 2006; 12(28): 4593-4595
Published online Jul 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i28.4593
A case of gallbladder carcinoma associated with pancreatobiliary reflux in the absence of a pancreaticobiliary maljunction: A hint for early diagnosis of gallbladder carcinoma
Jin Kan Sai, Masafumi Suyama, Yoshihiro Kubokawa
Jin Kan Sai, Masafumi Suyama, Yoshihiro Kubokawa, Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence to: Dr. Jin Kan Sai, Department of Gastro-enterology, Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. jinkans@med.juntendo.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-58021061 Fax: +81-3-56845960
Received: April 6, 2006
Revised: April 12, 2006
Accepted: April 24, 2006
Published online: July 28, 2006
Abstract

A 62-year-old man with progressive thickening of the gallbladder wall visited our outpatient clinic. The biliary amylase level in the common bile duct was 19 900 IU/L and that of the gallbladder was 127 000 IU/L, although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed no pancreaticobiliary maljunction. Histology demonstrated a moderately differentiated adenocar-cinoma of the gallbladder. Pancreatobiliary reflux and associated gallbladder carcinoma were confirmed in the present case, in the absence of a pancreaticobiliary maljunction. Earlier detection of the pancreatobiliary reflux and progressive thickening of the gallbladder wall might have led to an earlier resection of the gallbladder and improved this patient’s poor prognosis.

Keywords: Amylase; Bile; Gallbladder carcinoma; Pancreatobiliary reflux; Pancreaticobiliary maljunction; Diagnosis