Is laparoscopic cholecystectomy hazardous for gallbladder cancer?

BACKGROUND: There have been several case reports of unexpected gallbladder cancer diagnosed after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) being associated with fatal recurrence of cancer in the abdominal wall. Therefore there is a risk that LC might worsen the prognosis of gallbladder cancer. The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of recurrence of cancer in the abdominal wall and the prognosis of patients with unexpected gallbladder cancer diagnosed after LC.

METHODS: A clinicopathologic study was performed on 30 patients with postoperatively diagnosed gall-bladder cancer among 3566 patients undergoing LC at 19 institutions. The cumulative survival rate was compared with that reported for gallbladder cancer diagnosed after open cholecystectomy.

RESULTS: Recurrence of cancer in the abdominal wall occurred in three patients, and two of them died. The 3-year survival rate was 100% for early gallbladder cancer and 70% for advanced tumors. These results were comparable to the 3-year survival rates for gallbladder cancer diagnosed after open cholecystectomy.

CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of recurrence of cancer in the abdominal wall was increased, but the medium-term prognosis was not worsened by laparoscopy. It does not appear necessary to exclude patients with cholecystitis or gallbladder wall hypertrophy from undergoing laparoscopic procedures on the grounds that they might have gallbladder cancer.