Resection combined with intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) for stage IV (TNM) gallbladder carcinoma

From October 1976 to May, 1990, a total of 86 patients with stage IV (TNM) gallbladder cancer were treated at Tsukuba University Hospital. Twenty-seven of the 86 patients underwent tumor resection; 43 patients received palliative surgery. The remaining 16 were too advanced to have surgery. Of 27 patients who had tumor resection, 9 had resection alone, 17 had intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) +/- postoperative external radiotherapy (ERT), and 1 had postoperative ERT. The procedures used were: extended right hepatic lobectomy plus hepaticobiliary resection (HBR) (n = 2), hepatic segmentectomy (SIVb, SV) plus HBR (n = 9), hepatic segmentectomy (SIV, V, VI) with HBR (n = 1), hepatic segmentectomy (SIV, V) plus HBR with pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (n = 3), PD plus HBR (n = 1), cholecystectomy with wedge resection of the gallbladder fossa plus HBR (n = 3), and cholecystectomy plus HBR (n = 3), and cholecystectomy (n = 4). Regional lymph node dissections were performed in every patient and 17 of 27 patients underwent additional resections of adjacent organs such as the stomach, duodenum, colon, and abdominal wall. A single dose of 20-30 Gy was delivered intraoperatively for 17 patients. A mean total dose of 36.4 Gy (1.8/fraction) was added to IORT for 10 patients. The three-year cumulative survival rate was 10.1% for resection plus IORT but 0% for resection alone. The longest survivor is alive and well at 3 years and 3 patients are alive 16, 13, and 4 months after tumor resection followed by IORT plus ERT.