Biliary Papillomatosis
Laura Webb Lamps, MD
Key Facts
Terminology
Multiple adenomas of bile ducts
Clinical Issues
Very rare; some cases associated with familial adenomatous polyposis
Resection often not possible given multicentricity
Complications include adenocarcinoma, biliary obstruction
Macroscopic Features
Soft, friable, often villiform polypoid masses
Most are located throughout biliary tract; rarely confined to intrahepatic bile ducts
Microscopic Pathology
Multiple complex papillary lesions
Columnar or cuboidal epithelium
Cytoplasmic mucin may be present
May resemble intestinal-type adenomas
 Biliary papillomatosis features numerous polypoid adenomatous lesions of the biliary tract. This one, present in the common bile duct, resembles an intestinal-type tubulovillous adenoma. |
 This case of biliary papillomatosis had multiple foci of invasive adenocarcinoma. This poorly differentiated carcinoma arose in the common bile duct. |
TERMINOLOGY
Synonyms
Multiple biliary papillomatosis
Definitions
Multiple, often numerous adenomas of bile ducts
CLINICAL ISSUES
Epidemiology
Incidence
Extremely rare; minority associated with other diseases, such as
Ulcerative colitis
Familial adenomatous polyposis
Choledochal cyst
Age
Peak incidence in 6th-7th decade of life
Gender
No significant gender predominance
Some sources report slight male predominance
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