Gallbladder cancer in Chile: what have we learned?

Abstract

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) should be considered an orphan disease in oncology and represent a unique carcinogenetic model. This review will analyse some of the current aspects of GBC. Chile has the highest incidence and mortality of GBC in the world. Most patients are diagnosed in advanced stages with few treatment options. During the last two decades, little progress has been made in early diagnosis and treatment. At the molecular level, recent access to next-generation sequencing and other techniques for detecting the mutations of multiple genes have made advances in this area. The use of therapies targeted according to the detection of specific molecular alterations is in the early stages of evaluation and could represent a significant advance in the treatment of a large number of patients from developing countries.