Incidental gallbladder cancer diagnosed on cholecystectomy specimens: a study of 30 cases

Background - The gallbladder cancer is a rare cancer with poor prognosis. The association with gallstone disease is the main risk factor of this cancer. Aim - Describe the demographics, clinic-pathologic and therapeutic management of incidentally gallbladder cancer diagnosed on cholecystectomy specimens. Methods - retrospective study including 30 cases of gallbladder cancer incidentally detected on cholecystectomy specimens. Results - The incidence of gallbladder cancer incidentally discovered was 0.83%. The sex ratio M/F was 0.5 and the average age was 68 years. The main risk factor was cholelithiasis (38%). Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent histological type found in 86.6% of cases and it was biliary-type in 56.6% of cases. 76,7% of the tumors were classified in early stages (stages 0, I and II) and 23,3% were in advanced stages (III and IV). A simple cholecystectomy was curative in 66.7% of cases. Overall survival rate was 56.7% at one year. The best survival rate was for the early stages: 100% stages 0-I and 45.4% stage II. Conclusions - The gallbladder cancer has poor prognosis because of its late diagnosis. Thorough sampling and careful attention on histological examination of all parts of cholecystectomy specimens allows detection of early cancer with better prognosis.