Port site and distant metastases of gallbladder cancer after laparoscopic cholecystectomy diagnosed by positron emission tomography

World J Gastroenterol. 2008 Nov 7;14(41):6428-31. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.6428.

Abstract

We report port site and distant metastases of unsuspected gallbladder cancer after laparoscopic cholecystectomy diagnosed by positron emission tomography (PET) in two patients. Patient 1, a 72-year-old woman was diagnosed as cholelithiasis and cholecystitis and received laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Unsuspected gallbladder cancer was discovered with histological result of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder infiltrating the entire wall. A PET scan using F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) before radical resection revealed residual tumor in the gallbladder fossa and recurrence at port site and metastases in bilateral hilar lymph nodes. Patient 2, a 69-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy more than one year ago with pathologically confirmed unsuspected adenosquamous carcinoma of stage pT1b. At 7-mo follow-up after surgery, the patient presented with nodules in the periumbilical incision. Excisional biopsy of the nodule revealed adenosquamous carcinoma. The patient was examined by FDG-PET, demonstrating increased FDG uptake in the right lobe of the liver and mediastinal lymph nodes consistent with metastatic disease. This report is followed by a discussion about the utility of FDG-PET in the gallbladder cancer.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / diagnostic imaging*
  • Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / secondary
  • Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / surgery
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / diagnostic imaging*
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / secondary
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / surgery
  • Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic / adverse effects*
  • Cholecystitis / surgery
  • Cholelithiasis / surgery
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / pathology
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / surgery
  • Humans
  • Incidental Findings*
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary
  • Liver Neoplasms / surgery
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Neoplasm Seeding*
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals

Substances

  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18