Isha Aggarwal, Gargi Mukherjee, Rajat Mondal, Sananda Koley, Asitava Deb Roy
BACKGROUND: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the fifth most common cancer of the gastrointestinal tract and the most common cancer of the biliary tract. Despite advancements in various diagnostic procedures, preoperative diagnosis of GB carcinoma is an exception rather than the rule with most of the cases diagnosed incidentally on histopathological examination.
METHODS: This study includes 1320 cholecystectomy specimens, which were removed, during a period of 3 years in a tertiary care hospital. The clinicopathological findings and radiological findings of all the cases detected as gall bladder cancers were recorded; age, sex, presenting symptoms, presence of gallstones and histological grade and staging of tumours were included. Incidence of IGBC were then studied.
RESULTS :Among the 1320 cholecystectomy specimens, 17 cases were diagnosed to be cases of malignant disease. Out of 17 cases of gall bladder carcinoma 14 (1.06%) cases were incidentally detected on histopathological examination with rest of the 3 cases were already suspicious in preoperative investigations. Among IGBC F:M ratio is 6:1 with median age of patient being 52 years. In our study, more than 80% of cases of gall bladder carcinoma were detected incidentally.
CONCLUSIONS: Histopathological examination of cholecystectomy specimens remains the gold standard for the detection of this occult, yet notorious malignancy since maximum cases of GBC were diagnosed incidentally.
