Lee MR, Jang KY, Yang JD. Primary mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the gallbladder: A case report and review of literature. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(18): 103055 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i18.103055]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jae-Do Yang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Surgery, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, No. 20 Geonjiro Deokjin-gu, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. yjd@jbnu.ac.kr
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2025; 13(18): 103055 Published online Jun 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i18.103055
Primary mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the gallbladder: A case report and review of literature
Mi-Rin Lee, Kyu-Yun Jang, Jae-Do Yang
Mi-Rin Lee, Jae-Do Yang, Department of Surgery, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Mi-Rin Lee, Kyu-Yun Jang, Jae-Do Yang, Research Institute of Clinical Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Mi-Rin Lee, Kyu-Yun Jang, Jae-Do Yang, Biomedical Research Institute, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Kyu-Yun Jang, Department of Pathology, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Author contributions: Yang JD and Lee MR designed the study and contributed to the manuscript writing; Jang KY contributed to writing and reviewing the pathology, findings; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by Biomedical Research Institute, Jeonbuk National University Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jae-Do Yang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Surgery, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, No. 20 Geonjiro Deokjin-gu, Jeonju 54907, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. yjd@jbnu.ac.kr
Received: November 12, 2024 Revised: December 21, 2024 Accepted: January 27, 2025 Published online: June 26, 2025 Processing time: 112 Days and 23 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The primary lymphomas of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) of the gallbladder (GB) is an extremely rare of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Many patients exhibit symptoms like gallstone disease, and in some cases, the lymphoma may be detected through imaging even without apparent symptoms. Only 19 cases of primary MALT lymphoma in the GB have been previously reported. Differential diagnosis from typical GB carcinoma based solely on imaging findings can be challenging, and definitive diagnosis often requires surgical intervention.
CASE SUMMARY
We present a patient in an 82-year-old man who was initially diagnosed with prostate cancer but incidentally detected GB wall thickening from magnetic resonance imaging conducted for prostatic surgery and subsequent radical cholecystectomy revealed primary MALT lymphoma of the GB. The patient was followed up by a medical oncologist, and after discussion, the decision was made to continue observation with close monitoring without systemic chemotherapy given the asymptomatic presentation. The patient has been free of recurrence for 16 months after the surgery. Although precise diagnosis before the surgery was difficult in this case, preoperative examinations revealed a submucosal tumor-like lesion.
CONCLUSION
MALT lymphoma of GB remains little known in many previous studies. It is really difficult to preoperatively diagnose. The combination of clinical presentation, postoperative histology and immunohistochemistry contribute to diagnosis and carry out appropriate management.
Core Tip: Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the gallbladder (GB) often presents symptoms similar to cholecystitis. In addition, diagnosis and treatment through surgical resection should not be delayed, as distinguishing it from GB cancer on imaging is difficult. The prognosis is favorable after surgical resection, allowing monitoring with appropriate follow-up.
