Surgical treatment for gallbladder cancer – a systematic literature review

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate existing evidence regarding surgical treatments for gallbladder cancer in a Health Technology Assessment. A specific aim was to evaluate whether extended surgery regarding liver, lymph nodes, bile duct, and adjacent organs compared with cholecystectomy alone in the adult patient with gallbladder cancer in early and late stages implies improved survival.

Methods: In April 2015 and updated in June 2016, a systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Two authors independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. The certainty of evidence was evaluated according to GRADE.

Main results: Forty-four observational studies (non-randomised, controlled studies) and seven case series were included. Radical resection, including liver and lymph node resection, compared with cholecystectomy alone showed significantly better survival for patients with stages T1b and above. All studies had serious study limitations and the certainty of evidence was very low (GRADE ⊕○○○). A survival benefit seen in patients with stage T1b or higher with lymph node resection, was most evident in stage T2, but the certainty of evidence was low (GRADE ⊕⊕○○). It is uncertain whether routine bile duct resections improve overall survival in patients with gallbladder cancer stage T2–T4 (GRADE ⊕○○○).

Conclusion: Data indicate that prognosis can be improved if liver resection and lymph node resection is performed in patients with tumour stage T1b or higher. There is no evidence supporting resection of the bile duct or adjacent organs if it is not necessary in order to achieve radicality.

Keywords:

• Bile duct resection
• gallbladder cancer
• liver resection
• lymph node dissection
• surgery

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on a health technology assessment, supported by the HTA – centrum in Region Västra Götaland in Sweden.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the HTA – centrum in Region Västra Götaland in Sweden.