Cholangitis glandularis proliferans. A histologic variant of primary sclerosing cholangitis with distinctive clinical...

This is the first report in the American literature of a recently described histologic variant of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Only six examples of this unique entity, called cholangitis glandularis proliferans (CGP), or proliferative cholangitis, have previously been reported. This disorder typically presents as painless jaundice but differs clinically from PSC by occurring predominantly in females and lacking an association with inflammatory bowel disease. The unique histological features are characterized by florid intramural proliferation of glandular elements in addition to an intense inflammatory component. Anatomically, the lesion is confined to the extrahepatic biliary tree, which enables its successful surgical extirpation since it does not appear to be progressive.