[Vascular involvement in gallbladder carcinoma]

One hundred cases of gallbladder carcinoma were investigated histologically for vascular involvement. The incidence of vascular involvement was high in patients showing diffuse infiltration, but it was not found in those with lesions less than 1 cm in diameter and was frequently seen in those with tumors greater than 3 cm in diameter. Vascular involvement was not found in cases with lesions within the propria mucosa and propria muscularis, but it was frequently seen in those with lesions beyond the propria muscularis. The rates of lymphatic and venous involvement in patients with invasion beyond the propria muscularis were 78% and 66%, respectively.