Metastasis in the gallbladder: does literature reflect reality?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Gastroenterology
• Surgical Pathology

Background:

• Gallbladder metastases (GBm) are uncommon and present diagnostic challenges.
• They can be mistaken for primary gallbladder cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinicopathological and epidemiological features of GBm.
• To compare findings between a literature cohort and a nationwide population cohort.

Main Methods:

• A literature review and analysis of a Dutch nationwide cohort (1999-2015).
• Overall survival (OS) analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard models.

Main Results:

• Melanoma was the most common primary tumor in the literature cohort (33.8%), while colorectal cancer predominated in the population cohort (23.7%).
• Median OS ranged from 6.0 to 22.5 months.
• Age, timing of metastasis (synchronous/metachronous), and primary tumor origin independently predicted OS.

Conclusions:

• Gallbladder metastases are rare with a poor prognosis.
• Discrepancies between cohorts may stem from reporting biases for distinct histological features.