Synchronous Gallbladder Cancer and Distal Cholangiocarcinoma Without Pancreaticobiliary Maljunction: A Case Report With Literature Review.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Reports of synchronous cancers in the biliary tract without pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) are exceedingly rare. We present a case of synchronous gallbladder cancer and distal cholangiocarcinoma occurring in the absence of PBM.

CASE REPORT: A 60-year-old man presented with abdominal pain and jaundice. Preoperative imaging findings revealed a 23 mm tumor in the gallbladder and a 38 mm tumor in the distal bile duct, without signs of PBM. Preoperative diagnosis included gallbladder cancer (cT2N0M0, stage II) and distal cholangiocarcinoma (cT1N0M0, stage IA), and the patient underwent subtotal stomach-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy and liver segment IVb/V resection. Histopathology confirmed distinct gallbladder cancer and distal cholangiocarcinoma, without continuity between the tumors. The patient has been alive for 32 months after surgery without any signs of recurrence.

CONCLUSION

Although synchronous cancers in the biliary tract without PBM are rare, attention should be paid to the possibility of another lesion being present in the biliary tract during the diagnostic and treatment processes.