Synchronous tumors of the pancreas and the gallbladder: a case report with targeted NGS evaluation

Abstract

Synchronous tumors of the pancreas and gallbladder are rare and often attributed to an abnormal pancreato-biliary junction, which results in a persistent reflux of pancreatic secretions leading to chronic biliary inflammation. We present the case of a 73-year-old woman with synchronous lesions of the pancreas and gallbladder initially considered as two primary localized cancers and treated with curative intent. At relapse, targeted next generation sequencing (NGS), performed in search of potential therapeutic targets, uncovered the fact that the two lesions appeared to be clonally related. This case illustrates the problem of synchronous lesions of the pancreas and gallbladder. New pathologic assessments with comparative molecular analysis of mutational profiles may be helpful in this context.

Multifocal pancreatobiliary malignancies: A diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

“…The finding of CC with pancreatic metastasis is even more uncommon than 2 distinct carcinogenic processes and gives rise to a significant diagnostic dilemma. In such cases where the histological and immunophenotypical similarities between CC and pancreatic carcinoma render it difficult to make a clinical distinction between the 2 pathologies, next generation sequencing can play an important role in the determination of aetiogenesis and subsequent therapeutic options [14] .…”