Abstract
Adenoendocrine cell carcinoma of the gallbladder is a rare and highly malignant tumor. A 75-year-old man was admitted due to the right upper abdominal pain and fever. Abdominal ultrasonography and CT scan showed thickening of the gallbladder wall, intraluminal debris, and a high echoic mass in the neck of the gallbladder. Inflammation did not improve by conservative medical treatment and PTGBD was performed. After resolution of the inflammation, cholecystectomy was done, and additional wide excision was performed because the intraoperative frozen section diagnosis was adenocarcinoma. Histological features of the tumor were those of endocrine cell carcinoma with solid nests (carcinoid). There was a transition between adenocarcinoma and endocrine cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry showed that neuron specific enolase, chromogranin A, and synaptophysin were positive in the endocrine cell carcinoma, Grimelius staining was positive in the neuroendocrine carcinoma and focally in adenocarcinoma. The final pathological diagnosis was adenoendocrine cell carcinoma of the gallbladder. The patient had been well until 6 months after the surgery when tumor marker increased and a liver metastasis was detected.
