A Case of Carcinoid Tumor of the Gallbladder

Kazuhiro Kinugasa, Shunsuke Yasuoka and Tsunenori Matsuda

Department of Surgery, Kobe Steel Hospital, Kakogawa

We report a rare case of a carcinoid tumor of the gallbladder. A 41-year-old woman was found in abdominal ultrasonography to have a gallstone 4 mm in diameter and a polypoid tumor with an irregular surface at the neck of the gallbladder. Following laparoscopic cholecystectomy, histopathological examination showed proliferation of small uniform cells with round to oval nuclei arranged in solid nests, cords, or glandular structures, infiltrating to the muscular layer. Mitotic figures were not seen. Tumor cells were positive for Grimelius' argyrophil staining but negative for Masson-Fontana's argentaffin staining. Immunohistochemically, these tumor cells were positive for chromogranin A, and were diagnosed as classical carcinoid tumor. Flow cytometric analysis of nuclear DNA showed a diploid pattern. Eight years and 6 months after surgery, the patient is doing well without any sign of recurrence. Endocrine cell tumor of the gallbladder is classified into 2 entities, carcinoid tumor and endocrine cell carcinoma. We analyzed clinicopathological findings for cases of endocrine cell tumor of the gallbladder and found that almost all carcinoid tumors were neither metastatic nor invasive, having more favorable postoperative outcomes than endocrine cell carcinoma. In management of endocrine cell tumors of the gallbladder, classical carcinoid tumor should be clearly distinguished from endocrine cell carcinoma.

Key words
carcinoid tumor of gallbladder, endocrine cell carcinoma of gallbladder, flow cytometry

Reprint requests
Kazuhiro Kinugasa Department of Surgery, Joyo Ejiri Hospital
1-279 Hojo, Himeji, 670-0947 JAPAN

Accepted
April 28, 2004

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