A review of gall bladder carcinoma in Ibadan

Twenty cases of histologically proven carcinoma of the gall bladder (GB) seen in the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria between 1983 and 1997 were reviewed. There were seven males and thirteen females, thus giving a sex ratio of 1:2. The majority of the cancers occurred between the fourth and seventh decade of life. The pre-operative diagnosis has improved and about 70% of the ten patients with adequate clinical information had definitive surgical treatment. The advent of new imaging techniques at this hospital, consisting of ultasound (US) and computerized axial tomography(CT) has made pre-operative diagnosis possible. This is in contrast to the situation noted twenty years earlier in a similar study. Surgical intervention can now be timed and planned appropriately in the majority of cases although late presentation is still a problem. With earlier presentation, prompt diagnosis and appropriately planned surgery, a better survival figure is anticipated at this institution.