Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the gallbladder: A case report and review of the literature

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the gallbladder is a rare variant of undifferentiated carcinoma composed of both malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components. Preoperative differentiation of this tumor from adenocarcinoma is difficult because of its overlapping clinical and radiological features. However, the prognosis of this tumor is poor with a median survival of only 5.5 months. Surgical resection is the treatment choice for these tumors, but chances of recurrence are high. To our knowledge, 80 cases of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the gallbladder have been reported in the world literature. We report a case of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the gallbladder in a 65-year-old male who was treated with a radical cholecystectomy with extrahepatic bile duct resection. A hepaticojejunostomy with Roux en Y jejunojejunostomy and regional lymphadenectomy was done. A Ro resection was achieved in this case. We report this case because of its rarity, difficulty in its specific preoperative diagnosis and to emphasize the need of immunohistochemistry to confirm the diagnosis.