[Chronic calculous cholecystitis: elementary and dysplastic lesions, echographic correlations and immunohistochemical approach].

The morphological analysis of 223 cases of chronic calculous cholecystitis has drawn attention to the following outstanding facts: (a) elementary lesions are numerous (above all ulceration, mucosal erosion, antral and intestinal metaplasia) and put together a complex sight; (b) mild, moderate and severe dysplasias have a surprising high incidence (67%), even in the age-group under 40; (c) dysplasia is more common in the gallbladders bearing parallel hyperplastic and metaplastic mucosal changes, if compared with gallbladders where these changes are lacking; (d) thickness of gallbladder's wall and incidence of dysplasia are in direct relation; (e) echographic preoperative assessment of wall's thickness has predictive value for presence of dysplasia; (f) CEA and CA 19-9 have a progressively increasing expression in the various degrees of dysplasia.