[Acute cholecystitis and cancer of the gallbladder in the aged]

We are reporting 35 cases of gallbladder cancer in elderly people. 9 of them (25.7%) were operated with the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. We point out the high incidence of the association of acute cholecystitis and gallbladder cancer, being the cholelithiasis a predominant factor in the pathogenesis of cancer. Considering that we found gallbladder cancer in 6.1% of the cholecystectomies, we advise to perform the surgical treatment in all the patients suffering of cholelithiasis.