Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis masquerading as gallbladder carcinoma.

We herein present a case of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis which involved both the liver and transverse colon, clinically mimicking gallbladder carcinoma. Such cases may sometimes be judged inoperable due to extensive extra-gallbladder invasion, and thus it is necessary for physicians to take this lesion into consideration when making a diagnosis. An intraoperative biopsy is necessary, therefore, even when the features seem to clearly indicate inoperable carcinoma.