A Case of Xanthogranulomatous Cholecystitis with High CA19-9 Levels that Normalized Post-Cholecystectomy

Abstract

The patient was an 81-year-old male. His blood tests revealed a mild hepatic dysfunction and an abnormally high Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (2,830 U/ml). Ultrasonography, contrast-enhanced computed tomography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography were carried out, and showed that the gallbladder was filled with microcalculi, that the gallbladder was enlarged, and that the gallbladder wall had thickened; however, no calculi were found in the common bile duct, and positron emission tomography was performed for the detection of malignancies but the findings were poor; therefore, the condition was diagnosed as calculous cholecystitis, and cholecystectomy was performed. The pathological findings indicated a xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, and the levels of Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 returned to normal immediately after surgery. The immunostaining of Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 showed that epithelial mucosa of the gallbladder, cytoplasm of multinucleated foreign-body giant cells, and infiltrating macrophages were positive, and suggested that the abnormally high levels of Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 may have been due to xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis. In some cases, Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels can be high in benign diseases such as cholangitis and pancreatitis, but markedly high levels are rare. Only two cases of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis have been reported to have shown abnormally high Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 that returned to normal after cholecystectomy. We report our experience along with a discussion based on the literature.