Radical Resection For Gallbladder Cancer Research Articles

Progress and controversy in minimally invasive approach to radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer

Surgical treatment is one of the most important forms of treatment in patients with gallbladder cancer. With the development of minimally invasive technology, the feasibility, safety and efficacy of minimally invasive approaches such as laparoscopic or robotic-assisted radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer have received continuous attention.For patients with an early T-stage (Tis or T1a), laparoscopic simple cholecystectomy is safe and economical, with a good prognosis for postoperative patients, and it has been widely accepted and performed. Radical resection of advanced gallbladder cancer requires resection of the gallbladder, its liver bed, and other neighboring invaded organs, as well as clearance of regional lymph nodes, which requires experienced gallbladder cancer treatment teams to strictly grasp the indications, select appropriate patients, and formulate a good surgical strategy to ensure the therapeutic effect. Meanwhile, robot-assisted radical resection for gallbladder cancer has been performed in a few centers and shows good clinical potential, but more high-quality studies are needed to further evaluate its value in gallbladder cancer treatment.

Expert consensus on the laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer

The incidence of gallbladder cancer has been increasing. Radial resection is still the most promising curable treatment for patients with gallbladder cancer. Although the techniques required for laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer have matured, the number of reports is also on the rise, and laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer is still controversial. To standardize laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer, the Biliary Surgery Branch, Chinese Society of Surgery, Chinese Medical Association, together with the Chinese Medical Doctor Association in Chinese Committee of Biliary Surgeons, gathered experts to formulate recommendations and consensus on laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer. This consensus includes several parts: safety, preoperative evaluation, indications, surgical team, positioning of patient and trocars, intraoperative frozen examination, lymph node dissection, liver resection,bile duct resection, etc. Furthermore, suggestions on the principle of treatment, surgical procedures, and precautions were also provided for patients with delayed diagnoses of gallbladder cancer undergoing resection. This consensus aims to offer valuable suggestions for the standardization of laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer.

Perioperative outcomes of robotic radical resection for gallbladder cancer: a single-center case series

Perioperative outcomes of robotic radical resection for gallbladder cancer: a single-center case series

Gallbladder cancer: current and future treatment options.

Surgery remains the preferred treatment option for early-stage gallbladder cancer (GBC). According to the anatomical position of the primary tumor, accurate preoperative stage and strict control of surgical indications, appropriate surgical strategies are selected to achieve the optimal surgical effect. However, most patients have already been at the locally advanced stage or the tumor has metastasized at the initial diagnosis. The postoperative recurrence rate and 5-year survival rate remain unsatisfactory even after radical resection for gallbladder cancer. Hence, there is an urgent need for more treatment options, such as neoadjuvant therapy, postoperative adjuvant therapy and first-line and second-line treatments of local progression and metastasis, in the whole-course treatment management of gallbladder cancer patients. In recent years, the application of molecular targeted drugs and immunotherapy has brought greater hope and broader prospects for the treatment of gallbladder cancer, but their effects in improving the prognosis of patients still lack sufficient evidence-based medicine evidence, so many problems should be addressed by further research. Based on the latest progress in gallbladder cancer research, this review systematically analyzes the treatment trends of gallbladder cancer.

Effect of a combination of dexmedetomidine and either isoflurane or sevoflurane on elderly patients undergoing radical resection for gallbladder cancer

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of dexmedetomidine (DEX) plus either isoflurane or sevoflurane, in elderly gallbladder cancer patients given radical resection. Methods: A total of 278 elderly patients assessed for eligibility and scheduled for radical gallbladder cancer resection in Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha, China were recruited. They were randomly assigned at a ratio of 1:1 to receive either DEX plus isoflurane or DEX plus sevoflurane. These two groups were compared with respect to immune functions (CD3+, CD 4+, CD 8+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells); inflammatory factors, and cognitive function scores.Results: The sevoflurane cohort had higher immune function indices, lower levels of inflammatorycytokines, and better oxidative stress indices, than the isoflurane cohort (p < 0.05). Postoperatively,cognitive function scores in both cohorts were reduced. At postoperative 12 and 24 h, sevofluranecohort had higher scores than the isoflurane group. Sevoflurane was more effective in stabilizinghemodynamic indices than isoflurane.Conclusion: DEX plus sevoflurane produces more significant improvements in the cognitive function ofelderly patients undergoing radical resection for gallbladder cancer, with milder immune functionimpairment, milder inflammatory response, and lower degree of oxidative stress, than isoflurane

Propensity Score Analysis of Outcomes Following Laparoscopic or Open Radical Resection for Gallbladder Cancer in T2 and T3 Stages

BackgroundAlthough laparoscopic radical resection (LRR) has long been contraindicated in gallbladder cancer (GBC), recent studies have demonstrated laparoscopic surgery did not adversely affect the perioperative and survival outcomes of GBC patients. However, these literatures are mainly focused on GBC of relatively early stages or incidental GBC. This study aimed to investigate the perioperative and long-term outcomes of LRR versus open radical resection (ORR) for GBCs in T2 and T3 stages. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 99 patients with GBC of T2 and T3 stages who underwent radical resection at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), which is widely used to reduce selection bias, was performed to compare the surgical outcomes and long-term prognosis between LRR and ORR. A logistic regression analysis was implemented to identify the predictive risk factors of postoperative overall survival. ResultsBy using PSM, the baseline characteristics of two groups (with 30 patients in each group) were generally well balanced. In the LRR group, the length of operation was significantly longer than the ORR group, but the intraoperative bleeding and postoperative days of hospital stay were significantly decreased compared to the ORR group. The two groups showed comparable outcomes regarding the incidence of biliary reconstruction, lymph node yield, the incidence of postoperative morbidities, the incidence of Clavien–Dindo (C–D) grades III–IV, the days of drainage tubes indwelling, mortality at 30 postoperative days and 90 postoperative days, and the incidence of port-site metastasis. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 61.2, 40.1, and 30.1%, respectively, in the LRR group, and 53.3, 40.1, and 40.1%, respectively, in the OLR group (P = 0.644). On multivariate analysis, T stage, vascular invasion, and tumor differentiation were found to be the independent risk factors for overall survival of GBC in T2 and T3 stages. ConclusionsFor GBC in T2 and T3 stages, LRR can achieve comparable perioperative outcomes and similar long-term survival benefit compared to ORR. LRR tends to show advantages over ORR regarding intraoperative bleeding and postoperative days of hospital stay.

Analysis for the short-term efficacy and long-term prognosis of laparoscopic and laparotomy radical resection for gallbladder cancer

Objective: To compare the short-term efficacy and long-term prognosis of laparoscopic and laparotomy radical resection for gallbladder cancer(GBC). Methods: From January 2010 to December 2020,the clinical data and survival information for 133 patients who underwent radical resection of GBC at the Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery,Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital,were retrospectively collected. Eighty patients(23 males and 57 females) underwent laparoscopic radical resection and had a median age(M(IQR)) of 66.0(12.8)years(range:28.0 to 82.0 years). Fifty-three patients(45 males and 8 females) who received laparotomy were 63.0(6.0)years old(range:45.0 to 80.0 years old). There were no significant differences in age,gender,body mass index,preoperative albumin,preoperative total bilirubin,N stages,vascular invasion,peri-neural invasion or tumor differentiation between the laparoscopic and laparotomy group(all P>0.05). But there were significant differences in preoperative CA19-9(Z=-2.955, P=0.003), preoperative ALT level(Z=-2.801,P=0.031) and T stage (χ2=19.110,P=0.007) between the two groups. A non-parametric test was used for quantitative data. χ2 test or Fisher exact probability method was used for count data. Results: Patients in the laparoscopic group did not differ from those in the laparotomy group in terms of length of operation,number of lymph node yield,number of positive lymph nodes,the incidence of intraoperative gallbladder rupture,incidence of postoperative bile leakage,abdominal bleeding or abdominal infection,30-day mortality,90-day mortality, the incidence of incision implantation or peritoneal cavity metastasis(all P>0.05). Patients in the laparoscopic group showed less intraoperative bleeding(100.0(200.0)ml vs. 400.0(250.0)ml)(Z=-5.260,P<0.01),fewer days with drainage tube indwelling(6.0(3.8)days vs. 7.0(4.0)days)(Z=-3.351, P=0.001), and fewer postoperative days in hospital(8.0(5.0)days vs. 14.0(7.5)days)(Z=-6.079,P<0.01) than those in the laparotomy group. Patients in the laparoscopic group displayed better overall survival (P<0.01) and progression-free survival (P<0.01). Subgroup analysis for GBC of T1b-T2 and T3 stages revealed comparable overall survival and progression-free survival between the laparoscopic and laparotomy groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: Laparoscopic radical resection can achieve long-term survival for GBC comparable to that with open surgery. Laparoscopic radical resection has advantages over open surgery regarding surgical trauma and postoperative recovery.

Clinical efficacy of radical resection for stage T3 gallbladder cancer and prognostic analysis

Clinical efficacy of radical resection for stage T3 gallbladder cancer and prognostic analysis

Clinicopathological features of long-term survivors after radical resection for gallbladder cancer

Introduction: The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics shared by long-term survivors (5 years or more) after radical resection for gallbladder cancer. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 174 patients who underwent radical resection for gallbladder cancer. We compared the clinicopathological characteristics between long-term survivors (n = 82) who survived for 5 years or more and short-term (< 5 years) survivors (n = 92). All the patients were followed-up for at least 5 years or until death. Results: The 5-year overall survival rate in all 174 patients was 47% (median survival time, 4.6 years). Age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.8, P = 0.005), depth of invasion (HR 1.9, P = 0.017), distant metastasis (HR 2.5, P < 0.001), perineural invasion (HR 1.9, P = 0.006), and residual tumor status (HR 2.7, P < 0.001) were identified as independent prognostic factors by multivariate analysis. We compared the clinicopathologic characteristics of long- and short-term survivors after resection for gallbladder cancer. Significant differences were found with regard to age, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, perineural invasion, residual tumor status, histology type, and histological grade. There was no long-term survivor in patients with residual tumor. Of 84 patients with lymph node metastasis, 25 survived for more than 5 years after resection. Conclusions: R0 resection is required to achieve long-term survival in gallbladder cancer patients. Regional lymphadenectomy provides a survival benefit for some patients with nodal disease.

Application value of nano carbon lymph tracing technique in the radical resection of gallbladder cancer: a prospective study

Application value of nano carbon lymph tracing technique in the radical resection of gallbladder cancer: a prospective study

Totally Laparoscopic Radical Resection of Gallbladder Cancer: Technical Aspects and Long-Term Results.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare tumor in developed countries. Chile has one of the highest incidences worldwide. For patients affected by resectable T1b or more advanced GBC, radical cholecystectomy (RC) is considered the standard therapy. Our aim is to describe the surgical technique and clinical-pathological results of patients undergoing totally laparoscopic radical resection of GBC. Patients undergo laparoscopic radical resection for primary and incidental GBC, between the years 2009 and 2016 in two centers from Chile. Patients in whom suspected bile duct invasion, frozen biopsy did not confirm cancer and para-aortic lymph node sampling was positive were excluded. Eighteen patients were operated, 77.8% were female with median age of 60.5year, and 16 patients had previous cholecystectomy with incidental cancer finding. The median operative time was 490min (400-550). No conversion to open surgery occurred. All patients achieved a R0 resection. Postoperative complications occurred in 2 patients (11.1%), and there was not mortality. After a median follow-up of 59months, the 5-year survival was 80.7%. This study shows the technical feasibility of the totally laparoscopic approach for radical resection of GBC with the same principles of classical open surgery. It appears that long-term oncological findings would also be similar at least in less advanced lesions.

Clinical effect of totally laparoscopic radical resection for gallbladder cancer

Objective To investigate the safety and feasibility of totally laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer. Methods The retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was adopted. The clinical data of 30 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2013 to August 2015 were collected. The patients received synchronous hepatic segmental or extrahepatic bile duct resection according to the conditions of patients, and choledochojejunostomy was applied to patients undergoing extrahepatic bile duct resection. The patients accepted postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy according to the results of postoperative pathological examination. Observation indicators included (1) operation situations, including surgical procedures, operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss and number of lymph node dissected, (2) postoperative situations, including time for out-off-bed activity, time for diet intake, time of drainage tube removal, occurrence of complications and duration of hospital stay, (3) results of postoperative pathological examination, including tumor stage and surgical margin, (4) postoperative adjuvant treatment, (5) follow-up situation including the survival of patients, tumor recurrence and metastasis. The follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was performed to detect the survival of patients and tumor recurrence and metastasis up to December 2015. Count data were represented as average (range). Results All the 30 patients underwent successful laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer combined with hepatic S4b and S5 resection+ lymph node dissection at N1 region. Six patients with obstructive jaundice caused by tumor invaded to extrahepatic bile duct underwent combined laparoscopic extrahepatic bile duct resection+ Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy, without perioperative death.The average operation time, average volume of intraoperative blood loss and average number of intraoperative lymph node dissected were 238 minutes (range, 178-430 minutes), 250 mL (range, 200-600 mL) and 7 (range, 4-15), respectively. (2) The patients got out-off-bed activity and normal diet intake at postoperative day 2, with a average time of drainage tube removal of 3 days (range, 0-25 days) and an average duration of hospital stay of 5 days (range, 3-28 days). Two patients with complications were cured by symptomatic treatment. (3) Results of postoperative pathological examination showed that all the patients received R0 resection, and pathological stage showed that 12 patients were detected inⅠB stage, 10 inⅡstage, 7 in ⅢA stage and 1 in ⅢB stage. (4) One patient in ⅢB stage (pT3N1M0 stage ) received gemcitabine+ cisplatin chemotherapy and other patients didn't receive the adjuvant treatment. (5) All the patients were followed up for a median time of 16 months (range, 4-32 months), without tumor recurrence and metastasis at Trocar puncture site. There were 25 patients with tumor-free survival and 5 patiens died of tumor recurrence. Conclusion Laparoscopic radical resection of gallbladder cancer is technically safe and feasible, with a satisfactory short-term outcome. Key words: Gallbladder neoplasms; Radical resection; Laparoscopy

Analysis of treatment and prognosis of primary gallbladder cancer

Objective To investigate the treatment strategies and factors influencing the prognosis of patients with primary gallbladder carcinoma.Methods The clinical data of 135 patients with primary gallbladder cancer who were admitted to the Cancer Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from January 2000 to December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed.The survival curve was drawn by the Kaplan-Meier method,and the survival rates were analyzed by using the Log-rank test.Factors which may have influences on the prognosis were analyzed by univariate analysis and COX multivariate analysis.Results The overall 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of the 135 patients were 46.7％,10.4％ and 5.2％,respectively.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of 74 patients who received radical resection of gallbladder cancer were 68.9％,18.9％ and 9.5％,respectively.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of 50 patients who received palliative treatment were 24.0％,0 and 0,respectively.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of 11 patients who received conservative treatment were 0,0 and 0,respectively.There was no significant difference in the survival rates among patients who received different treatment methods (x2 =5.642,P ＜ 0.05 ). Of the 9 patients with gallbladder cancer who received reoperation after laparoscopic choledochotomy,the survival time of 1 patient in stage Ⅰ and 1 of the 3 patients in stage Ⅱ who received radical surgery exceeded 5 years,while the survival time of 5 patients in stage Ⅱ who received palliative treatment was shorter than 5 years.There was a significant difference in the survival time among the 3 groups of patients ( x2 =5.642,P＜0.05).Under the condition of same TNM stages ( Ⅱ,ⅢA,ⅢB,ⅣA,ⅣB),the survival rates of patients who received radical resection of gallbladder cancer were significantly higher than those who received palliative or conservative treatment ( x2 =8.971,21.250,44.153,6.696,21.722,P ＜ 0.05 ).The results of univariate analysis showed that age,CA19-9,TNM stages and treatment methods were risk factors influencing the median survival time ( x2 =8.466,3.977,9.837,5.642,P ＜ 0.05 ).The results of multivariate analysis showed that age,TNM stages and treatment methods were the independent risk factors influencing the median survival time ( Wald=5.779,14.724,11.640,P＜0.05).Conclusion The prognosis of primary gallbladder cancer is poor.Age,TNM stages and treatment methods are the independent factors influencing the prognosis of patients with gallbladder cancer,and patients who receive radical resection have relatively good prognosis. Key words: Gallbladder neoplasms,primary; Prognosis; Surgical treatment

Radical resection of gallbladder cancer: could it be robotic?

The only potentially curative option for patients with gallbladder cancer is radical resection. This is the first report that describes the successful application of a minimally invasive, robot-assisted radical resection, including lymphadenectomy, in five gallbladder cancer patients. Medical records of patients who underwent radical resection of gallbladder cancer via the da Vinci robotic surgical system in the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgical Department of the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, China, between March 2010 and July 2011 were reviewed and analyzed. Robot-assisted radical resection was successful in all five patients. The mean number of excised lymph nodes was 9 (range = 3-11), mean operative time was 200 min (range = 120-300 min), mean intraoperative blood loss was 210 ml (range = 50-400 ml), and mean length of hospital stay was 7.4 days (range = 7-8 days). All patients were discharged with no reported complications. Mean postoperative follow-up was 11 months (range = 1-17 months). One patient died due to tumor recurrence 10 months postsurgically, but there was no recurrence in the remaining four patients during the follow-up period. Robot-assisted radical resection for gallbladder cancer is both feasible and safe. Compared to laparoscopic surgery, the robotic surgery system is better suited for subtle dissection in a narrow, deep space. This is advantageous for both the removal of lymph nodes near the pancreas and hepatoduodenal ligament and the skeletonization of the hepatoduodenal ligament, the hepatic artery, and the celiac axis. The long-term outcome and direct comparisons to laparotomy in a larger patient cohort are needed to provide more clinical data supporting the superiority of this approach.

Technical description of a regional lymphadenectomy in radical surgery for gallbladder cancer

BackgroundThe guidelines for resection of gallbladder cancer include a regional lymphadenectomy; yet it is uncommonly performed in practice and inadequately described in the literature. The present study describes the technique of a regional lymphadenectomy for gallbladder cancer, as practiced by the author. Methods/TechniqueAfter confirming resectability, the duodenum is kocherized. The dissection starts from the posterior aspects of the duodenum and head of the pancreas and extends superiorly to the retroportal area. This is followed by dissection of the common hepatic artery and its branches, the bile duct and the anterior aspect of the portal vein until the hepatic hilum. Resection of the gallbladder with an appropriate liver resection completes the surgery. ResultsThis technique was used for a regional lymphadenectomy in 27 patients, of which 14 underwent radical cholecystectomy upfront, and 13 had revisional surgery for incidentally detected gallbladder cancer. The median number of lymph nodes dissected on histopathology was 8 (range 3 to 18). Eleven patients had metastatic lymph nodes on histopathological examination. There was no post-operative mortality. Two patients had a bile leak which resolved with conservative management. ConclusionA systematic approach towards a regional lymphadenectomy ensures a consistent nodal harvest in patients undergoing radical resection for gallbladder cancer.

"Extended" radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer: Long-term outcomes, indications and limitations

To delineate indications and limitations for "extended" radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer: a procedure which was instituted in our department in 1982. Of 145 patients who underwent a radical resection for gallbladder cancer from 1982 through 2006, 52 (36%) had an extended radical cholecystectomy, which involved en bloc resection of the gallbladder, gallbladder fossa, extrahepatic bile duct, and the regional lymph nodes (first- and second-echelon node groups). A retrospective analysis of the 52 patients was conducted including at least 5 years of follow up. Residual tumor status was judged as no residual tumor (R0) or microscopic/macroscopic residual tumor (R1-2). Pathological findings were documented according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer Cancer Staging Manual (7th edition). The primary tumor was classified as pathological T1 (pT1) in 3 patients, pT2 in 36, pT3 in 12, and pT4 in 1. Twenty-three patients had lymph node metastases; 11 had a single positive node, 4 had two positive nodes, and 8 had three or more positive nodes. None of the three patients with pT1 tumors had nodal disease, whereas 23 of 49 (47%) with pT2 or more advanced tumors had nodal disease. One patient died during the hospital stay for definitive resection, giving an in-hospital mortality rate of 2%. Overall survival (OS) after extended radical cholecystectomy was 65% at 5 years and 53% at 10 years in all 52 patients. OS differed according to the pT classification (P < 0.001) and the nodal status (P = 0.010). All of 3 patients with pT1 tumors and most (29 of 36) patients with pT2 tumors survived for more than 5 years. Of 12 patients with pT3 tumors, 8 who had an R1-2 resection, distant metastasis, or extensive extrahepatic organ involvement died soon after resection. Of the remaining four pT3 patients who had localized hepatic spread through the gallbladder fossa and underwent an R0 resection, 2 survived for more than 5 years and another survived for 4 years and 2 mo. The only patient with pT4 tumor died of disease soon after resection. Among 23 node-positive patients, 11 survived for more than 5 years, and of these, 10 had a modest degree of nodal disease (one or two positive nodes). Extended radical cholecystectomy is indicated for pT2 tumors and some pT3 tumors with localized hepatic invasion, provided that the regional nodal disease is limited to a modest degree (up to two positive nodes). Extensive pT3 disease, pT4 disease, or marked nodal disease appears to be beyond the scope of this radical procedure.

Evaluation of obstructive jaundice as a poor prognostic factor after curative resection of advanced gallbladder cancer.

340 Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is one of the most common malignancies of the biliary tract. Because of the lack of specific presentations, this condition is frequently diagnosed only at an advanced stage. Obstructive jaundice is generally regarded as an indicator of far advanced disease, unresectability, and poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinicopathological factors, especially jaundice, influencing outcome after radical resection of gallbladder cancer, in order to identify the patients benefiting from radical surgery. Methods: Seventy-five patients with GBC underwent surgical resection between 1998 and 2008. A retrospective analysis was conducted on sixty-four patients with UICC T2 or more tumors. Clinicopathologic features, extents of resection, and survival rates were investigated retrospectively. Obstructive jaundice was defined that serum T-bil level was more than 2.0 mg/ml. Patients with jaundice underwent ENBD or PTBD and curative resection was performed when serum T-Bil level decreased below 2.0 mg/ml. Right after laparotomy, para-aortic lymphadenectomy and frozen section pathology were performed to convert a radical resection to a palliative procedure when a para-aortic lymph node was positive. Results: The three and five-year disease-specific survival rates were 47% and 41%, respectively. Nine patients survived for more than five years.Univariate analysis showed that blood loss during operation, hepatic invasion, portal vein invasion, N category, M category after postoperative pathological examination and residual tumor were significant prognostic factors (p&lt;0.05), but multivariate analysis showed that M category only was independent prognostic factor (p&lt;0.05). Five-year disease-specific survival rates for patients with (n=37) and without (n=27) obstructive jaundice were 47% and 35%, respectively (p=0.69). Conclusions: Obstructive jaundice had no impact on postoperative survival as long as metastatic disease was exclueded and adequate resection of the hepatic hilum was performed. Aggressive surgery might bring long-term survival in selected patients even with obstructive jaundice by advanced gallbladder cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Lymph node evaluation is associated with improved survival after surgery for early stage gallbladder cancer

Guidelines for the current National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend radical cholecystectomy, including hepatic resection and portal lymph node (LN) dissection, for patients with early stage gallbladder (GB) cancer. We sought to determine the survival benefit conferred by adequate LN evaluation. We used the surveillance, epidemiology and end results (SEER) neoplasm registry to identify patients who had an operation for GB cancer between 1988 and 2004. Patients were classified by stage of disease, operative procedure performed (cholecystectomy alone or radical resection), number of LNs evaluated (0, 1, >1), and receipt of radiation (RT). We included patients with T1B, T2, and T3 neoplasms who were LN positive or negative. Patients with T4 neoplasms and those with metastatic disease were excluded. Multivariate analysis included adjustment for age, race, sex, neoplasm grade, stage, operation performed, receipt of RT, and neoplasm registry. We identified 4,614 patients who underwent operative treatment for stage 1-2B GB (including T1B-T3 and LN positive or negative) cancer between 1988 and 2004. Of 4,614 patients, 9.6% (442) had radical resection, whereas 90.4% (4,172) had cholecystectomy alone. Among patients undergoing radical resection, 56% had LNs evaluated as compared with 28% of patients after cholecystectomy. For patients with T1B and T2 neoplasms who underwent radical resection, pathologic evaluation of at least 1 LN was associated with a significant improvement in median overall survival (OS) compared with those who had no LN evaluated (123 months vs 22 months; P < .0001). Radical resection with no LN evaluation provided similar OS compared with cholecystectomy alone (22 months vs 23 months; P = NS). For patients with T3 neoplasms, radical resection, including pathologic evaluation of at least 1 LN, was also associated with improved OS compared with radical resection with no LN evaluation (12 months vs 7 months; P = .0014). Again, individuals who had radical resection without LN evaluation had similar OS compared with those who had cholecystectomy alone (7 months vs 6 months; P = NS). Individuals who had radical resection with LN evaluation were more likely to receive RT than those who had radical resection without LN evaluation (33.1% vs 19.1%; P = .002). In multivariate analysis (including adjustment for RT), however, LN evaluation was still associated with a decrease in mortality compared with no LN evaluated (HR = 0.611; 95% CI = 0.484, 0.770). The pathologic evaluation of additional LN (>1) did not provide any additional benefit compared with the evaluation of a single node (HR = 0.795; 95% CI = 0.571, 1.107). Radical resection alone (without LN evaluation) did not provide any benefit over cholecystectomy alone (HR = 1.098; 95% CI = 0.971, 1.241). LN evaluation is a critical component of radical resection for GB cancer. In the absence of LN evaluation, radical resection provides no benefit over cholecystectomy alone.

Gallbladder Cancer: Defining the Indications for Primary Radical Resection and Radical Re-resection

The role of radical resection for gallbladder cancer is an ongoing area of debate. In this review, we present our experience managing gallbladder cancer at a tertiary center by using an aggressive surgical approach for T2 or greater disease, reserving simple cholecystectomy only for T1 lesions. Seventy-six patients with histologically confirmed gallbladder cancer were identified from our cancer registry. Estimated survival distributions were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons were made by using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the effect on survival of T stage, nodal status, age, and margins. Sixty-four patients were assessable for this study. Simple cholecystectomy was the only procedure performed in 10 T2 and 15 T3 cases. Radical cholecystectomy was performed as the primary procedure in two T2, two T3, and six T4 cases. Radical re-resection was accomplished in seven T2 and two T3 cases. Excluding the T4 group, there was a significant survival advantage (P = .007) for the radical resection group (n = 13; median survival not yet reached) compared with the simple cholecystectomy group (n = 25; median survival, 17 months; 95% confidence interval, 7-27 months). Analysis of the 13 T2 and T3 patients who underwent radical resections revealed that the radical re-resection group (n = 9) had an overall survival similar to that of the primarily resected group (n = 4). All T2N(+) and T3N(-) patients are still alive and disease free after 5 years of follow-up, whereas none of the T3N(+) or T4 patients survived beyond 24 months. Increasing T stage and age (>65 years) were independent predictors of a poor prognosis. Radical resection for T2 and T3 disease resulted in a significant survival advantage compared with simple cholecystectomy. Patients who undergo radical re-resection after an incidentally discovered gallbladder cancer experience the same survival benefit as primarily resected patients. Radical resection for T2N(-), T2N(+), and T3N0 cases can achieve long-term survival. Conversely, the prognosis for T3N(+) and T4 patients is poor, and improved outcome for this group will likely depend on the development of multi-institutional neoadjuvant clinical trials that can identify effective systemic regimens.

The long-term results of managements in 98 cases of gallbladder carcinomas

Carcinoma of the gallbladder is an uncommon, but patients with the disease are associated with a dismal prognosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characters, prognostic factors of gallbladder carcinoma and investigate the measures of diagnosis and treatment. 98 patients admitted into our hospital from January 1992 to July 2000 were followed up, with a mean follow-up time of 478 days (1 - 2,280 days). All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS10.0 statistical package. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and differences among groups were tested by the log-rank test. The Cox multivariate analysis was performed to determine prognostic factors on survival. Among 98 patients, 31 with radical resection, 29 with palliative resection, 18 with exploration and 20 with chemo- and/or radiotherapy, The overall 5-year survival rate of the gallbladder carcinoma was 6.67%, The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate following radical resection for gallbladder cancer was 77.29%, 34.37%, 21.48% respectively, The survival rate in radical resection group was remarkably higher than that of the others (P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor, node, metastases (TNM) stage and therapeutic interventions had significantly higher risk ratios for gallbladder cancer. With careful patient selection, aggressive resection may help to improve the prognosis, although the disease with ominous reputation. Resection alone is inadequate for a significant improvement in survival, so there is a need to evaluate more effective adjuvant therapy in the form of radiotherapy or newer chemotherapeutic agents. Emphasis to improve the long-term survival should be pay on early diagnosis and early management.