Cholangiocarcinoma or Caroli disease: a case presentation

Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of cholangiocarcinoma is problematic. Cross sectional imaging and tumor marker CA 19-9 are not absolutely reliable and tissue sampling is difficult. We present a patient with cholangitis and cystic dilation of intra-hepatic bile ducts that primarily diagnosed as Caroli's disease in imaging and needle biopsy but laparotomy and surgical biopsy revealed cholangiocarcinoma.