Carcinoma of the gallbladder in ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Report of two cases.
Dorudi S., Chapman RW., Kettlewell MG.
The authors present the cases of two patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder complicating chronic ulcerative colitis. Both patients had concomitant primary sclerosing cholangitis. Twelve such cases of gallbladder carcinoma have been reported in the literature. The presence of primary sclerosing cholangitis in patients with ulcerative colitis is associated with malignancy of the extrahepatic biliary tree. It is suggested that, if colectomy is necessary, the liver should be biopsied and a cholecystectomy performed if the gallbladder is deemed abnormal.