ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Lymphadenectomy (LND) is recommended following surgical resection of ≥ T1b gallbladder cancer (GBC). However, frequency and stage-specific survival benefits of LND remain unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The National Cancer Database (NCDB; 2006-15) was queried for resected pathologic stage I-III GBC. LND performance, predictors of receiving LND, and LND association with overall survival (OS) were assessed. RESULTS: Of 2302 total patients, 1343 (58.3%) underwent LND. Patients who underwent LND were younger and more frequently had private health insurance, a negative surgical margin, higher pathologic T stage, and received adjuvant chemotherapy (all p < 0.001). LND rates were highest at academic centers (70.1%) relative to all other facility types (p < 0.001). LND was independently associated with improved OS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44-0.61]. LND was associated with improved OS for pT1b, pT2, and pT3 patients (all p < 0.05) on univariate analysis. LND was independently associated with improved OS in pT2 (HR 0.44, CI 0.35-0.56) and pT3 (HR 0.54, CI 0.43-0.69) patients. CONCLUSIONS: LND is associated with a 48% reduction in risk of death in patients with resectable non-metastatic GBC, with greatest impact in pT2-3 patients. Patients without LND have similar OS to patients with node-positive disease, highlighting the importance of LND. Underutilization of LND likely results in undertreatment of patients with undiagnosed nodal disease, which may contribute to unfavorable oncologic outcomes.
