Case ReportA case report of the clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma

•Patient history and clinical findings are often not specific enough to arrive at a diagnosis of clear cell gallbladder carcinoma.•Consideration of morphologic and immunophenotypic features are essential to establish a diagnosis of clear cell gallbladder carcinoma.•It is important for clinicians to differentiate gallbladder cancer from metastases that most commonly arise from the kidneys and other possible secondary foci.

IntroductionClear cell gallbladder carcinoma accounts for less than 1% of all gallbladder malignancies and demonstrates its unique histopathological characteristics in patients with no prior medical illness or familial predisposition.Presentation of caseHere we present a case of a 56-year-old female, with no prior medical conditions presented with a 2-month history of upper abdominal pain. Routine hematological and biochemical tests were unremarkable. An abdominal ultrasound revealed the presence of a gallbladder calculi, and a fundic mass while magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography revealed a 8.0 cm × 3.5 cm gallbladder mass. Computed tomography imaging excluded any distant haematogenous metastases. An open cholecystectomy with lymphadenectomy was proceeded by staging laparoscopy. Upon pathologic investigation, the morphologic and immunophenotypic features supported a diagnosis of clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma.DiscussionPathological prognostications for primary clear cell gall bladder carcinomas are not well defined due to the rarity of cases and possible misidentification as secondary metastases. Foci of adenocarcinoma within the tumor along with immunohistochemical staining probes can be informative in consideration of differential diagnosis.ConclusionIn these cases, clinical case management should be personalized for increased survival with the possible incorporation of next generation sequencing approaches to guide therapeutic algorithms. We discuss this exceedingly rare case of the clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma in detail, highlighting some of the diagnostic, and clinical challenges.