Chronic typhoid carriage and carcinoma of the gallbladder

Chronic microbial infections and/or their carrier state have been reported to be associated with particular cancers. Since typhoid infections and carcinoma of the gallbladder (the site where salmonella usually persists) are endemic in northern India, it was considered important to explore the relationship between the two. In the present study, a total of 1001 bile specimens collected from cases of carcinoma of the gallbladder (28), cholelithiasis (56) and individuals without biliary pathology (17) were subjected to aerobic cultures that had been enriched for salmonella. Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi-A could be detected in a significantly higher (P < 0.05) number in patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder as compared with cholelithiasis and control groups. The existence of such an association indicates that detection and eradication of typhoid carriers may lead to a decrease in the incidence of carcinoma of the gallbladder along with typhoid fever.