Clinical and genetic analysis of noncancerous and cancerous biliary epithelium in patients with pancreaticobiliary maljunction.

We analyzed clinical features and genetic alterations in the noncancerous and cancerous biliary lesions obtained from pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) patients. Gallbladder (GB) and bile duct (BD) lesions were obtained surgically from 36 patients with PBM, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods were used to examine for mutations of the K-ras gene and the p53 gene and for microsatellite instability (MSI). The 36 cases were clinically classified into two types according to whether extrahepatic bile duct dilatation was present: a congenital choledochal dilatation (CCD) group (n = 20) and a noncongenital choledochal dilatation (NCCD) group (n = 16).