Histopathological Examination Of Gallbladder Specimens Research Articles

Reconsidering Routine Histopathological Examination of Gallbladder Specimens in Cholecystectomy: Optimizing Clinical Practice and Resource Management

Reconsidering Routine Histopathological Examination of Gallbladder Specimens in Cholecystectomy: Optimizing Clinical Practice and Resource Management

Demographic and Clinicopathological Spectrum of Gallbladder Carcinoma in a Tertiary Care Centre in Jharkhand: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction Gallbladder carcinoma is a rare but aggressive cancer of adults that affects females more than males. Its occurrence is more common in the regions of South America and Asia. Chronic inflammation and cholelithiasis are frequently associated risk factors of gallbladder carcinoma. The incidental discovery of a gallbladder carcinoma during cholecystectomy, gross or microscopic examination of the unsuspected gallbladder specimens is termed incidental gallbladder carcinoma (IGBC). Considering the lack of extensive studies on gallbladder carcinoma in the Eastern region of India, especially in Jharkhand, this study has been done to present the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of gallbladder carcinoma in this region. Methods A retrospective and descriptive study was done at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, a tertiary care center in Jharkhand. The study sample comprised 2386 gall bladder casesreceived in the Department of Pathology over five years, from December 2018 to December 2023. Results Of 2368 specimens, 25 cases (n=25) were reported as primary gallbladder carcinoma. The female-to-male ratio was 4:1. Pain was the most common complaint by the patients. Of the 25 cases, 12 were suspected intra-operatively or diagnosed microscopically (IGBC). Most showed a mass at the neck. In six cases, no gross mass/lesion was seen. Cholelithiasis is present in 19/25 cases.Most cases showed adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified). Out of the adenocarcinoma cases, most were well differentiated. At the time of diagnosis, most were at the pT2 stage. Twelve cases of IGBC were found. Eight out of 12 IGBC were early-stage carcinoma when diagnosed. Conclusion Twenty-five cases of gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed in the last five years in our center, with 19 (76%) of them associated with cholelithiasis. Twelve (48%) of the cases were incidentally diagnosed either preoperatively or during gross/microscopic examination, and eight (66%) of those were discovered early, out of which five (62.5%) were observed to be in the T1b stage. At this stage, there is a diversion from the general surgical management of gallbladder carcinoma for a better prognosis. This underscores the significance of routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens, even if there is no preoperative suspicion of gallbladder carcinoma.

HISTOPATHOLOGY OF GALLBLADDER SPECIMENS AFTER CHOLECYSTECTOMY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background Current approach to detect the presence of gallbladder carcinoma involves a routine histopathological examination of all gallbladder specimens, regardless of the clinical characteristics of the patient or macroscopic aspect of the gallbladder. Available pathological reports were interpreted for the following parameters: age, gender, and pathological diagnosis. In addition, the demographic information and clinicopathologic characteristics of the patients with histopathologic ndings were assessed in detail, and re-examination of the available specimens was done. Inpatient records of the Methods patients who had been operated for elective and emergency cholecystectomies in the hospital associated with Khaja Bandanawaz University – Faculty of medical Sciences; from January 2018 to November 2022, were retrospectively evaluated. Results A total of 661 gallbladder specimens submitted for histopathological examination during the study period were included in the study. The results of histopathological examination of these gallbladder specimens showed that chronic cholecystitis was found in 535 (81%), acute cholecystitis in 46 (6.99%), cholesterolosis in 44 (6.5%) patients, Dysplasia was found in 34 (5.14%) patients, and gallbladder carcinoma was detected in 2 (0.30%) patients. Conclusion A strategy of selective approach for histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens may be safe in areas with very low incidence of gallbladder carcinoma. Such selective strategy is more cost-effective, reduces the workload of pathologists, and does not appear to compromise patient outcome.

Role of Detailed Intraoperative Macroscopic Examination of Cholecystectomy Specimens for Deciding Specimens Needing Histological Evaluation for Diagnosing Incidental Carcinoma of Gallbladder at the Earliest? A Systematic Review

Background: Several studies recommending selective or routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens have been done. However, the argument between these studies is based on intraoperative suspicion of IGBC (incidental gallbladder carcinoma) for deciding on specimen sending. This study aims to know whether a detailed intraoperative examination of cholecystectomy specimens is required for deciding on specimens needing histological evaluation and suspecting IGBCs at the earliest. Methodology: The systematic review has been done as per the PRISMA guidelines. Various articles were searched in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Science Direct databases. This systematic review comprises studies involving patients diagnosed with benign gallbladder disease that underwent cholecystectomy but were later diagnosed with IGBC on routine or selective histological examination. Results: Out of the 26 studies that were chosen, 12 recommended routine histopathology and 14 recommended selective histopathology. The total number of gallbladders included in these studies was 79769, and the IGBCs diagnosed on histology were 494. The gross macroscopy of IGBCs diagnosed in routine histology recommending studies overlapped with the intraoperative macroscopic picture of the IGBCs diagnosed in selective histology recommending studies based on which the surgeons suspected them, thereby showing a need for detailed intraoperative macroscopic examination of gallbladders to avoid overlooking any IGBC. Conclusion: Detailed intraoperative examination of cholecystectomy specimens is essential for suspecting IGBCs at the earliest and for selective histopathology, as in its absence, a significant number of IGBCs are missed by surgeons. Keywords: cholecystectomy, pathology, gallbladder, carcinoma

Review of routine versus selective gall bladder histopathology for benign cholecystectomy and a novel hybrid recommendation based on clinical risk stratification

Introduction: The global incidence of IGBC detected on simple cholecystectomy specimens is 0.19-3.3%. The aim of the study was to assess the necessity of performing a routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens.

Incidental Gallbladder Carcinoma in North Indian Population: Importance of Routine Histopathological Examination of All Benign Gallbladder Specimens.

Aim: To evaluate the incidence of incidental gallbladder carcinoma in specimens of cholecystectomy performed for benign gallbladder diseases and to establish the utility of routine histopathological examination of all gallbladder specimens obtained following cholecystectomy done for benign diseases.Material and Methods: This was a hospital-based three years prospective and retrospective study done at a tertiary care centre in North India. Gallbladder specimens from laparoscopic and open cholecystectomies done for benign gallbladder diseases without any clinico-radiological evidence of malignancy were included in the study. Routine histopathological evaluation of 1,268 such gallbladder specimens was carried out to get the incidence of incidental gallbladder carcinoma and pathological staging of carcinoma was done according to American Joint Committee recommendations for cancer staging (AJCC). All the diagnosed cases of Incidental gallbladder carcinoma (IGBC) were analysed in terms of demographics, radiology findings, and gross and microscopic pathology findings.Results: Out of 1,268 gallbladder specimens of clinically benign diseases, 16 cases (1.26%) were diagnosed as cases of IGBC with female predominance with a male to female ratio of 1:7. Mean gallbladder thickness in these cases was 0.77±0.20 cm, and 98.30% cases of IGBC were associated with gall stone disease. However, no correlation was observed between the age, gallbladder thickness and pathological stages of these IGBC.Conclusion: IGBC is an occult disastrous malignancy of the gallbladder, which can be missed in the pre and intraoperative periods despite careful clinical and radiological evaluation and comes as a surprise for pathologists the first time. We recommend that all specimens of gallbladder obtained from its surgical resection for benign diseases should be subjected to histopathological examination.

Safe, selective histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens: a systematic review.

BackgroundRoutine histopathological examination after cholecystectomy is costly, but the prevalence of unsuspected gallbladder cancer (incidental GBC) is low. This study determined whether selective histopathological examination is safe.MethodsA comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library was performed. Pooled incidences of incidental and truly incidental GBC (GBC detected during histopathological examination without preoperative or intraoperative suspicion) were estimated using a random‐effects model. The clinical consequences of truly incidental GBC were assessed.ResultsSeventy‐three studies (232 155 patients) were included. In low‐incidence countries, the pooled incidence was 0·32 (95 per cent c.i. 0·25 to 0·42) per cent for incidental GBC and 0·18 (0·10 to 0·35) per cent for truly incidental GBC. Subgroup analysis of studies in which surgeons systematically examined the gallbladder revealed a pooled incidence of 0·04 (0·01 to 0·14) per cent. In high‐incidence countries, corresponding pooled incidences were 0·83 (0·58 to 1·18), 0·44 (0·21 to 0·91) and 0·08 (0·02 to 0·39) per cent respectively. Clinical consequences were reported for 176 (39·3 per cent) of 448 patients with truly incidental GBC. Thirty‐three patients (18·8 per cent) underwent secondary surgery. Subgroup analysis showed that at least half of GBC not detected during the surgeon's systematic examination of the gallbladder was early stage (T1a status or below) and of no clinical consequence.ConclusionSelective histopathological examination of the gallbladder after initial macroscopic assessment by the surgeon seems safe and could reduce costs.

Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens after cholecystectomy: Is it time to change the current practice?

Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens after cholecystectomy: Is it time to change the current practice?

Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens after cholecystectomy: Is it time to change the current practice?

Routine histopathological examination of all gallbladder specimens, regardless of the clinical characteristics of the patient or macroscopic aspect of the gallbladder, is the current approach to detect the presence of gallbladder carcinoma. The aim of the present study was to assess whether or not it would be safe to adopt a policy of processing only gallbladder specimens with preoperative or intraoperative suspicion for malignancy without compromising patient safety. From January 2009 to June 2017, all histopathology reports of 3423 consecutive gallbladder specimens after elective and emergency cholecystectomies were retrospectively analyzed in two university hospitals. A total of 3423 gallbladder specimens submitted for histopathological examination during the study period were included into the study. The results of histopathological examination of these gallbladder specimens showed that chronic cholecystitis was found in 2792 (81.6%), acute cholecystitis in 237 (6.9%), and cholesterolosis in 223 (6.5%) patients. Dysplasia was found in 5 (0.14%) patients, and gallbladder carcinoma was detected in 4 (0.11%) patients. All patients with gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed either preoperatively or intraoperatively, and none of the patients with gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed from the histopathological examination. A strategy of selective approach for histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens may be safe in areas with very low incidence of gallbladder carcinoma. Such selective strategy is more cost-effective, reduces the workload of pathologists, and does not appear to compromise patient outcome.

Histopathological Examination of Gallbladder Specimens in Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand.

Gall stones are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world and common health problems throughout in developing countries. Cholecystectomy is one of the most common surgical practices and postoperative analysis of cholecystectomy specimen has a great value since histopathological reports may document some entities with significant clinical significances. Gallbladder carcinomas in cholecystectomy specimens are received in our histopathology laboratory to analyse their clinicopathological features. This was a descriptive study carried out at the histopathology section of the Department of Pathology at our hospital over a period of twoyears ranging from November 2016 to October 2018. Both intraoperative and postoperative histological examinations of the excised gallbladder facilitated the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer. Surgery-related variables and surgical approaches were evaluated according to the extent of tumor invasion. Twenty five cholecystectomy specimens of the acute and symptomatic chronic cholecystitis patients were analyzed. Standardization of the reporting were examined. Age, gender, presence of gall stone, cholesterolosis, adenomatous hyperplasia, gastric or intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, histopathological type of gallbladder carcinoma, cellular differentiation, grading, lympho vascular invision, perineural invasion, lymph node invasion, involvement of cystic duct end margin, liver invasion, omental tissue invasion and T.N.M. staging were investigated. Reported rates of histopathological findings were comparable between patients aged twenty six years to seventy six years. Epithelial hyperplasia and metaplasia were found to be related to age. The correlation between cholesterolosis and gender or metaplasia was noted. We suggest that in India and other nations, high incidences of gallbladder carcinoma, all cholecystectomy specimens must be submitted to routine macroscopic and histopathology examination in the laboratory, as this is the only capability through which malignancies can be detected at an early, potentially curable stage. This incidental finding has altered the management and outcome of this dreadful disease.

Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens after cholecystectomy: Is it time to change the current practice?

Routine histopathological examination of all gallbladder specimens, regardless of the clinical characteristics of the patient or macroscopic aspect of the gallbladder, is the current approach to detect the presence of gallbladder carcinoma. The aim of the present study was to assess whether or not it would be safe to adopt a policy of processing only gallbladder specimens with preoperative or intraoperative suspicion for malignancy without compromising patient safety. From January 2009 to June 2017, all histopathology reports of 3423 consecutive gallbladder specimens after elective and emergency cholecystectomies were retrospectively analyzed in two university hospitals. A total of 3423 gallbladder specimens submitted for histopathological examination during the study period were included in the study. The results of histopathological examination of these gallbladder specimens showed that chronic cholecystitis was found in 2792 (81.6%), acute cholecystitis in 237 (6.9%), and cholesterolosis in 223 (6.5%) patients. Dysplasia was found in 5 (0.14%) patients, and gallbladder carcinoma was detected in 4 (0.11%) patients. All patients with gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed either preoperatively or intraoperatively, and none of the patients with gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed from the histopathological examination. A strategy of selective approach for histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens may be safe in areas with very low incidence of gallbladder carcinoma. Such selective strategy is more cost-effective, reduces the workload of pathologists, and does not appear to compromise patient outcome.

Importance of routine histopathological examination of a gallbladder surgical specimen: Unexpected gallbladder cancer.

Cholecystectomy performed for benign diseases of the gallbladder is important for the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer. This is done by pathological examination of the removed specimens for patients with no detected or suspected complications before surgery. Although some centers undertake selective approaches for histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens, many centers perform this examination routinely. In our study, we investigated results of pathological examinations carried out on cholecystectomy specimens, in respect to unexpected cases of gallbladder cancer. We reviewed cholecystectomy cases performed for benign diseases of gallbladder from January 2012 to February 2016 by investigating pathological specimens from the gallbladder. We evaluated demographical properties and their association with the pathological diagnosis and frequency of unexpected gallbladder cancer cases. We reported additional treatment and survival information of the malignancy cases after surgery. We reviewed 1294 cases of cholecystectomy, and the mean patient age was 47.5 ± 14.3 years. The most frequent diagnosis was chronic cholecystitis (92.3%), and it was more prevalent among younger patients and female sex (P < 0.0001). Five patients (0.4%) were determined to have gallbladder cancer, and the mean age of these cases was 65.6 ± 18.2 years. Two cases were Stage 2, two cases were Stage 3B, and one case was Stage 3A. There was no T1 or Tis tumor. Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder is significant with respect to the determination of additional interventions at the postoperative period required for cancer cases coincidentally diagnosed.

Routine histopathology for carcinoma in cholecystectomy specimens not evidence based: a systematic review

Routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens is mainly performed to identify unexpected gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). This systematic review assesses the prevalence and characteristics of GBC in cholecystectomy specimens. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched for all articles reporting on the finding of GBC in cholecystectomy specimens. Of the 30 articles included, 20 were from Europe and the United States, and 10 were of Asian origin. In the Western studies, 276 cases of GBC were found in 61,542 specimens (median prevalence 0.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3-0.6). Of these, 65% were expected pre- or intraoperatively. In the Asian studies, 344 cases of GBC were found in 37,365 specimens (median prevalence 1.2%, 95% CI 0.8-1.7). Of these, 45% were expected pre- or intraoperatively. In a subgroup analysis, identification of previously unexpected GBC affected treatment in only a minority of patients. In total, 72% of the patients received no further treatment and 32 patients (22%) received secondary surgery, of whom 15 patients survived at least 1 year. The histopathological finding of GBC after cholecystectomy appears to be a rare event. The prevalence of unexpected GBC was higher in Asian studies than in Western studies. The pre- and intraoperative sensitivity for this carcinoma is low. Moreover, the diagnosis of GBC at the time of histopathology is usually inconsequential. The results of this systematic review do not support routine histopathology of cholecystectomy specimens in clinical practice.