A CASE OF LEIOMYOSARCOMA OF THE GALLBLADDER AND A REVIEW OF THE JAPANESE LITERATURE

A case of sarcoma of the gallbladder is presented with a review of 50 cases of the disease reported during the past 50 years in Japan. A 72-year-old female was admitted, complaining of a palpable mass in the right upper quadrant. Abdominal CT, ultrasonography and SCA studies suggested advanced cancer of the gallbladder. Combined resection of the tumor with the infiltrated portion of the liver, transverse colon and affected parietal peritoneum was performed. The surgical specimen was histologically proved to be a leiomyosarcoma. Although the postoperative course was uneventful, the patient died on the 41st day after surgery, due to pneumonia with a rapid local regrowth of the tumor and lung metastses. A survey of the 50 cases revealed the following features: average age was 62.6 years and females were more commonly affected, the sex ratio being 2.7:1. Coincident gall stone was found in about 59% of the cases. As the histological findings, leiomyosarcoma was most commonly encountered. Prognosis of this disease was so poor that almost all cases died within a year after surgery. Relatively long survival, on the other hand, was noted in several surgical cases.