Diagnosis of lymphoma from a cholecystectomy specimen: Case report and review of the literature

It is rare to establish an initial diagnosis of lymphoma by study of a cholecystectomy specimen as in this case (woman of 31). Four similar cases have recently appeared in the English literature, each of which was reported as a primary lymphoma arising within the gallbladder. Rosenberg et al. (1961) found that the gallbladder was invaded in 10.8% of the autopsy series and concluded that it was rarely of clinical significance. In the case reported, a staging laparotomy 7 wk after cholecystectomy revealed disseminated disease. Lymphomatous involvement of the gallbladder is rarely diagnosed antemortem and indicates disseminated disease until proved otherwise.