Severe dysplasia of the gallbladder associated with occult pancreatobiliary reflux

Pancreatobiliary reflux usually occurs in patients with pancreaticobiliary maljunction and can be associated with the occurrence of gallbladder carcinoma. We present the case of a patient with pancreatobiliary reflux despite having a normal pancreatobiliary junction (occult pancreatobiliary reflux; OPBR), in whom the resected gallbladder presented severe dysplasia. The patient, a 61-year-old woman, showed thickness of the gallbladder wall, detected by ultrasonography and computed temography (CT). Her biliary amylase level in the common bile duct was 103,000 IU/l, and in the gallbladder it was 153,500 IU/l, although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed a normal pancreaticobiliary junction. Immunohistochemical staining showed many p53-positive nuclei in the dysplastic lesion, and about 50% of the dysplastic cells exhibited diffuse nuclear staining for Ki-67. In the present patient, early diagnosis of occult pancreatobiliary reflux led to early detection of a precancerous lesion of the gallbladder mucosa.