Cholelithiasis, cholecystectomy, and cancer: a case-control study in Sweden

To study the relationship between gallstone disease (cholelithiasis and cholecystectomy) and cancer, a case-control study was performed in two Swedish hospitals comparing the prevalence of gallstone disease discovered at necropsy in 1422 subjects who died of cancer and 1205 subjects who did not die of cancer. Gallstone disease was more prevalent in the group of 131 women less than 50 yr of age who died of various cancers: odds ratio = 2.2, p less than 0.01. When the analysis was restricted to 89 younger women who died of cancers that have been suggested to be related to diet (breast, reproductive system, gastrointestinal), the results became more significant: odds ratio = 3.3, p less than 0.001. No such relationship was detected in older women or in men of any age. It seems likely that gallstone disease and several common cancers in younger Swedish women share similar epidemiologic and perhaps metabolic features.