Early diagnosis of primary gallbladder carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To promote the level of early diagnosis and strengthen the understanding of pathogenesis, pathological staging and prognosis of primary gallbladder carcinoma (PGC). Methods The data of 679 patients with PGC treated in our hospital from 1956 to 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. Results The incidence of PGC has been increasing in recent years while the surgical management for the disease was not satisfactory. Upon diagnosis, most patients were with PGC in advanced stage. PGC was usually found among the aged woman patients. The female/male ratio was 3∶1. There was a close relationship between gallstone and PGC, for the gallstone was found in 60% of the patients with PGC. The diagnostic accordance rate before and after operations was low. Most cases of PGC were found unexpectedly during operation due to gallstone or acute cholecystitis. It was even worse that many patients with PGC missed the opportunity of diagnosis and treatment because doctors noticed the gallstone only. Pathological classification revealed that most cases of PGC were of adenocarcinoma. Development in imaging medicine might help a lot in finding early-stage cases and improving prognosis. Conclusions Strengthening the understanding of pathogenesis, pathological staging and prognosis of the disease and proper use of various examinations are the basic means of obtaining early diagnosis and improving the prognosis.