Gallbladder cancer epidemiology, treatment and survival in Southern Finland – a population-based study

Abstract

Introduction

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare malignancy in Western population with poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the trends in GBC incidence, treatment pattern, and survival in Finland.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with primary GBC in a geographically defined area (Southern Finland Regional Cancer Center) during 2006–2017 were identified.

Results

Final cohort included 270 patients with GBC. The incidence was 1.32/100,000 persons, and it decreased 6.8 cases per million personyears during the study period. One hundred fifty-one (56%) patients were diagnosed at Stage IV. Fifty-one patients (19%) underwent curative-intent resection with 96% R0-resection rate. The median overall survival was 7.1 months and 5-year overall survival 11.6% for all patients, and 67.7 months and 56.8% after curative-intent resection, respectively. No improvement was noted over time in overall survival in patients with GBC, or in subgroups of different stages of GBC.

Conclusions

The incidence of GBC is slightly decreasing in Southern Finland, but survival has not improved over time.

Keywords:

• Incidence
• biliary tract cancer
• neoplasm

Disclosure statement

Dr. Hanna Koppatz reports grants from Mary and Georg Ehnrooth’s Foundation during the conduct of the study; grants from Vatsatautien tutkimussäätiö foundation and grants from Martti I. Turunen Foundation outside the submitted work. Dr. Ville Sallinen reports grants from Vatsatautien Tutkimussäätiö Foundation, Mary and Georg Ehrnrooth’s Foundation and Helsinki University Hospital research funds during the conduct of the study; and grants from Finska Läkaresällskapet, Academy of Finland, Finnish Cancer Foundation (Syöpäsäätiö) and personal fees from Finnish Gastroenterological Society, City of Vantaa, outside the submitted work. Dr. Katriina Peltola reports personal fees as following: consulting/advisory role: Orion Pharma, BMS, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Ipsen, Roche, Varian; stockholder: Faron Pharmaceuticals; speakers’ bureau: BMS, Pfizer, MSD; expert testimony: Ipsen; travel/accommodations/expenses: Roche, BMS; Institutional research funding: AbbVie, Bayer, BMS, MSD, Roche, Exelixis, Orion Pharma, Eisai, Novartis.

Med cand. Sini Takala, Drs. Heikki Mäkisalo, and Arno Nordin, and statistician Anna But have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Helsinki University Hospital research funds, Vatsatautien Tutkimussäätiö Foundation, and Mary and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation.