The Improvement of Surgical Treatment for Patients with Gallbladder Cancer: Analysis of 208 Consecutive Cases Over the Past Decade

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine if there has been improvement in survival for patients with gallbladder cancer treated with surgical procedures.

Methods

A retrospective review of all patients with gallbladder cancer admitted during the past 11?years was conducted. The patients were categorized into two periods: period 1, from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2005 (group 1, n?=?77); and period 2, from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2010 (group 2, n?=?131).

Results

The two groups have similar age, sex distribution, and symptoms. There were more patients with advanced stage in group 2 (P?=?0.001). And patients in group 2 were treated with more aggressive surgical procedures compared with group 1. Patients of group 2 had a better surgical outcomes and longer 5-year overall survival (9?% vs. 19?%, P?=?0.040) and disease-free survival (P?=?0.017). Median survival in group 1 was 14.7?months, while in group 2 it was 22.3?months. Patients underwent R0 resection in group 2 had better survival than that in group 1 (P?=?0.009), while they had similar survival for those who underwent non-R0 resection in both periods (P?=?0.108).

Conclusions

A significant improvement of disease-free survival and long-term survival results was observed in the past decade.