Sonographic features of carcinoma of the gallbladder

The sonographic features of carcinoma of the gallbladder are reviewed. Four cases of carcinoma of the gallbladder are presented which illustrate some, but not all, of the sonographic findings resulting from this abnormality. The findings illustrated are (a) a small gallbladder containing stones associated with a mass in the porta hepatis, (b) diffuse gallbladder thickening, fixation, and irregularity, (c) a papillary mass with an irregular border projecting from the gallbladder wall, and (d) a small, localized area of gallbladder wall thickening associated with cholelithiasis. Although inflammatory disease of the gallbladder can present similar sonographic findings, the correlation of the clinical findings and close inspection of the sonographic changes illustrated and described in this publication may allow the only means of a preoperative diagnosis of carcinoma of the gallbladder.