[Autopsy of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder diagnosed based on liver tumor biopsy and treated with chemotherapy:a case report].

Abstract

A 71-year-old male patient with multiple liver and lymph node metastases of gallbladder cancer was diagnosed with gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma based on liver tumor biopsy. He received chemotherapy with attention to the medical history of interstitial pneumonia and achieved a partial response. The patient died of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia 12 months after diagnosis. A pathological autopsy was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder. The autopsy revealed no adenocarcinoma component, indicating the possibility of transformation from adenocarcinoma to neuroendocrine carcinoma or that the carcinoma originated from a small number of neuroendocrine cells that were originally present in the gallbladder. Gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma is very rare, and this case is valuable in that it was diagnosed medically and connected to treatment, and the diagnosis was corroborated with a general autopsy.