Unsuspected Gallbladder Cancer: A Clinical Retrospective Study

Background: The morbidity of unsuspected gallbladder carcinoma (UGC) has increased. This study was aimed to explore the factors which may influence the therapeutic strategies and prognosis of UCG. Additionally, long-term prognosis of laparoscopic and open surgeries of UGC was comparatively investigated. Methods: Thirty-eight cases of UGC were enrolled in this study. Statistical analysis of survival was performed using the Kaplan-Meier test and the results were examined using the log-rank test. Results: The morbidity of UGC was 0.43 %. The cancer stagings were: pT1a (one), pT1b (11), pT2 (14), pT3 (10), pT3N1 (one), and pT4 (one). The median lifespan of the entire cohort was 20.0 ± 6.5 months, one-year survival rate was 44 %, and five-year survival rate was 11 %. One-year recurrence- free survival rate was 44 % and three-year recurrence- free survival rate was 0 %. Twenty-eight patients sustained cancer recurrence and three patients sustained port-site cancer recurrence. The cancer staging (P 0.01) and radical resection (P 0.01) were independent factors for both overall and recurrence-free survival. Radical resection improved the prognosis of the patients with pT2 stage UGC (P 0.05), but no significant impact on the prognosis of the patients with pT1b (P = 0.362) or pT3 stage (P = 0.221) UGC. Survival rates were not significantly affected by the first operation no matter it was laparoscopic surgery or open surgery (P = 0.12). Conclusion: Radical resection surgery is recommended in pT2 stage UGC. There is no difference for the long-term prognosis between laparoscopic surgery (cholecystectomy) and open surgery of UCG.