Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Curatively Resected Gallbladder Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy.
• Optimal treatment for advanced resectable GBC remains a challenge.
• Radical resection is a primary treatment modality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare overall survival (OS) between patients receiving radical resection followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (S+CCRT) and patients receiving radical resection only (S) for advanced resectable GBC.
• To evaluate the impact of CCRT on disease-free survival (DFS) and oncologic outcomes.
• To assess the safety and tolerability of CCRT in this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Propensity score matching was used to create comparable groups of patients who received S+CCRT versus S.
• Kaplan-Meier analysis evaluated OS and DFS.
• Cox proportional hazards regression analyzed survival data for the entire cohort.

Main Results:

• Propensity score matching resulted in 39 patients in the S+CCRT group and 39 in the S group.
• The 5-year OS was significantly higher in the S+CCRT group (42.4%) compared to the S group (17.9%).
• Median OS was 27 months for S+CCRT versus 13 months for S (P=.004), with significantly improved DFS in the S+CCRT group.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) significantly improves overall survival for patients with stage II-IVA resectable GBC.
• The combination of radiation therapy with chemotherapy was found to be feasible and well-tolerated.
• CCRT represents a valuable adjuvant treatment option for improving outcomes in advanced GBC.