[A Case of Gallbladder MALT Lymphoma]

The patient was a 64-year-old woman. She complained of intermittent right hypochondriac pain, and imaging tests showed that she had cholelithiasis and adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder. We decided to treat her surgically, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was underwent. The removed gallbladder specimen showed a 2-3 mm elevated lesion in the mucosa of the gallbladder body. Histologically, the elevated lesion contained lymphoid follicle-like lymphocytes, with atrophic germinal centers inside and lymphocyte proliferation around the lesion. The proliferating cells were mainly positive for CD20 and CD79a, and positive for B cell markers. Based on the above, she was diagnosed with MALT lymphoma. She underwent resection alone, and has been free of recurrence or metastasis for 2 years since surgery. MALT lymphoma of the gallbladder is rare, does not have typical imaging findings, and preoperative diagnosis is difficult. This case reaffirms the importance of pathological examination of cholecystectomy specimens, as detailed pathological evaluation of the postoperative specimens leads to a diagnosis.