A Case of Early Bile Duct Carcinoma Associated with Congenital Dilatation of the Bile Duct

Nobutaka Tanaka, Masakazu Nobori, Shunichi Yumoto, Kiyoshi Mori, Junno Deguchi, Hiroyuki Okamoto, Jun Matsumoto, Toru Nakajima*

The Department of Surgery, Asahi General Hospital
*Division of Pathology, Teikyo University Ichihara Hospital

We have experienced a case of early bile duct cancer associated with congenital bile duct dilatation (CBD). The patient was a 57-year-old woman, who was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of epigastralgia. She was followed up for 10 years by our physicians after a diagnosis of CBD due to maljunction of the pancreaticobiliary system. Detection of a mass in the bile duct cyst by imaging devices prompted us to remove the choledochal cyst. We could not find a macroscopical tumor; however, pathological examination of the resected specimen revealed well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma invading the fibromuscular layer in the cyst wall in two places. The patient is alive and well 14 months after the operation. We have so far collected data on only 24 cases of early bile duct cancer associated with CBD in Japan. The option of the operative procedure in such a situation will be clarified after collection of long-term results in many cases.

Key words
early bile duct cancer, congenital bile duct dilatation, maljunction of the pancreatobiliary system

Reprint requests
Nobutaka Tanaka Department of Surgery, Asahi General Hospital
i-1326 Asahi City, 289-25 JAPAN

Accepted
December 10, 1991

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