Fine-needle aspiration of primary gallbladder carcinoma

Primary carcinoma of the gallbladder is a rare neoplasm that is frequently difficult to diagnose preoperatively. The obstacles to diagnosis include vague symptoms and the relative inaccessibility of the gallbladder and cystic duct to biopsy. Cytological descriptions of gallbladder carcinoma are sparse and are largely confined to malignant cells identified in aspirated bile. Examination of bile is a fairly insensitive technique for diagnosing carcinoma, partially due to the degradative effect of biliary salts on cellular morphology. In the following, we report the findings of three cases of primary carcinoma of the gallbladder examined by fine-needle aspiration cytology.