Gallbladder carcinoma: role of radiation therapy

Gallbladder carcinoma continues to be a discouraging disease. Prognosis after resection still remains poor. Radiation therapy has been used in an attempt to improve the prognosis but only a few series of less than ten cases have been reported. Since 1977 we have treated 20 patients with gallbladder carcinoma with postoperative radiotherapy (mean total dose 4200 radiation absorbed dose). In four patients all the tumour was resected with the intent of cure. In 12 patients, the lesion was partially resected and in four patients no resection was performed. Seven patients in whom the tumour was partially resected or not resected also had chemotherapy. Our evaluation was retrospective and we compared our results with historical control groups comparable with respect to surgical procedures and pathological staging. In patients operated on for cure, one patient is alive at 84 months, the others died at 7, 8 and 33 months. In patients in whom the tumour was partially resected the mean survival time was 8.1 months and two patients are still alive 7.0 months after treatment. According to the Nevin classification the mean survival time in stage IV and V patients was respectively 9.2 and 7.2 months. There was no difference in survival between patients treated or not treated with chemotherapy. This experience is the largest published and suggests that radiotherapy may increase survival after no resection or palliative resection of gallbladder carcinoma.