The Occurrence of Gallbladder Carcinoma in Yemeni Patients Undergoing Cholecystectomy in Two Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Primary cancer of the gallbladder has wide 
 geographical, ethnic and cultural variations with poor prognosis. 
 Currently, there is no study about gallbladder carcinoma in Yemen. 
 The aim is to detect the occurrence of gallbladder carcinoma in 
 Yemeni patients undergoing cholecystectomy. 
 Patients and Methods: A descriptive retrospective study of data of 
 940 patients operated for gallstones in two university hospitals in 
 Yemen between 2002 and 2006 was carried out with respect to results 
 of histopathological analysis of gallbladder specimens. There were 
 872 women and 68 men. Patients who have no histopathological 
 reports in their files were excluded. Histopathological reports of 838 
 patients were retrospectively investigated for gallbladder malignancy. 
 Results: Gallbladder carcinoma was detected in 4 female patients of 
 median age 66 years. No male patient was affected. Adenocarcinoma 
 was the variety found in all four cases. All four patients with 
 gallbladder cancer have history of longstanding gallstone disease. 
 Conclusion: The study supports the hypothesis that gallbladder 
 carcinoma is rare and mostly affects elder women with long-standing 
 gallbladder stones. The occurrence of gallbladder carcinoma in the 
 targeted sample is significantly less than that of the western countries. 
 Cooperation between surgeon, sonographist and histopathologist is 
 strongly advised, particularly when gallbladder malignancy is 
 suspected