[Gallbladder carcinoma in Iceland 2004-2013]

Gallbladder carcinoma is about 0.5% of all cancer. The outcome of patients with gallbladder carcinoma is overall bad and the only potentially curative treatment is surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the disease's prevalence in Iceland and outcome of the patients diagnosed in the study period.

This was a retrospective study of all diagnosed patients with gallbladder carcinoma during the years 2004-2013. A list of patients was obtained from the Icelandic Cancer Registry. Information was gathered from the patient's charts in Landspitali University Hospital and the Hospital in Akureyri. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the results. Median follow-up time was 6 years.

Twenty-four patients were diagnosed with gallbladder carci-noma in Iceland during the study period, 16 women and 8 men. Eighteen patients were diagnosed in Landspitali and six in the Hospital in Akureyri. The average age at diagnosis was 73 years. Eighteen patients have died, on average 5 months after the time of diagnosis. Adenocarcinoma was the most common cancer type (n=19). Three patients (3/24, 12.5%) underwent extended operation following the diagnosis of the gallbladder carcinoma. Nine patients (9/24, 37.5%) had advanced disease at the time of diagnosis and died within two months after being diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma.

Gallbladder carcinoma is a rare cancer type in Iceland and has a bad prognosis. One third of the patients had no connection with Landspitali University Hospital following the diagnosis. Extended surgery following the diagnosis was seldom performed. Key words: gallbladder carcinoma, gastrointestinal cancer, adenocarcinoma, extended cholecystectomy. Correspondence: Kristin Huld Haraldsdottir, kristinh@landspitali.is.