Mucinous carcinoma of the gallbladder- two rare case reports

Gallbladder carcinomas are uncommon with female predominance in the sixth or seventh decades. Mucinous carcinomas of the gallbladder are rare with few cases documented in the literature. We present two cases of mucinous carcinoma of the gallbladder one of which was incidentally detected. The first case is a 65-year-old female who was diagnosed clinically with a suspected case of carcinoma of the gallbladder with the help of contrast-enhanced computed tomography. Microscopy showed extensive areas of mucin pools (>90% of the tumor), atypical cells in three-dimensional clusters, and scattered singly in the mucin pools. Immunohistochemistry revealed a strong expression of MUC2 by the tumor cells. The second case is a 60-year-old female who was diagnosed clinically with a case of chronic cholecystitis; however, the cholecystectomy specimen showed a mucinous growth in the fundus and body of the gallbladder, microscopy of which showed extensive mucin pools (>90% of the tumor) along with scattered signet-ring cells. Both the cases were reported as mucinous carcinoma of the gallbladder. Mucinous carcinoma of the gallbladder exhibit more aggressive behavior than conventional gallbladder carcinomas. Documentation of these rare cases will encourage further research to find out their true incidence and adequate management of the patient.