Gallbladder cancer in India: a dismal picture

Gallbladder cancer: Progress in the Indian subcontinent

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is one of the commonest biliary malignancies seen in India, Argentina, and Japan. The disease has dismal outcome as it is detected quite late due to nonspecific symptoms and signs. Early detection is the only way to improve the outcome. There have been several advances in basic as well as clinical research in the hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases in the West and other developed countries but not enough has been done in GBC. Therefore, it is important and the responsibility of the countries with high burden of GBC to find solutions to the many unanswered questions like etiopathogenesis, early diagnosis, treatment, and prognostication. As India being one of the largest hubs for GBC in the world, it is important to know how the country has progressed on GBC. In this review, we will discuss the outcome of the publications from India highlighting the work and the developments taken place in past several decades both in basic and clinical research.

Demographic and Clinicopathological Spectrum of Gallbladder Carcinoma in a Tertiary Care Centre in Jharkhand: A Retrospective Study

Introduction Gallbladder carcinoma is a rare but aggressive cancer of adults that affects females more than males. Its occurrence is more common in the regions of South America and Asia. Chronic inflammation and cholelithiasis are frequently associated risk factors of gallbladder carcinoma. The incidental discovery of a gallbladder carcinoma during cholecystectomy, gross or microscopic examination of the unsuspected gallbladder specimens is termed incidental gallbladder carcinoma (IGBC). Considering the lack of extensive studies on gallbladder carcinoma in the Eastern region of India, especially in Jharkhand, this study has been done to present the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of gallbladder carcinoma in this region. Methods A retrospective and descriptive study was done at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, a tertiary care center in Jharkhand. The study sample comprised 2386 gall bladder cases received in the Department of Pathology over five years, from December 2018 to December 2023. Results Of 2368 specimens, 25 cases (n=25) were reported as primary gallbladder carcinoma. The female-to-male ratio was 4:1. Pain was the most common complaint by the patients. Of the 25 cases, 12 were suspected intra-operatively or diagnosed microscopically (IGBC). Most showed a mass at the neck. In six cases, no gross mass/lesion was seen. Cholelithiasis is present in 19/25 cases. Most cases showed adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified). Out of the adenocarcinoma cases, most were well differentiated. At the time of diagnosis, most were at the pT2 stage. Twelve cases of IGBC were found. Eight out of 12 IGBC were early-stage carcinoma when diagnosed. Conclusion Twenty-five cases of gallbladder carcinoma were diagnosed in the last five years in our center, with 19 (76%) of them associated with cholelithiasis. Twelve (48%) of the cases were incidentally diagnosed either preoperatively or during gross/microscopic examination, and eight (66%) of those were discovered early, out of which five (62.5%) were observed to be in the T1b stage. At this stage, there is a diversion from the general surgical management of gallbladder carcinoma for a better prognosis. This underscores the significance of routine histopathological examination of gallbladder specimens, even if there is no preoperative suspicion of gallbladder carcinoma.

Prognostic Insights and Survival Analysis of Gallbladder Cancer in Bihar, India: a Prospective Observational Study Emphasizing the Impact of Surgical Intervention on Overall Survival

The aim of this study was to determine the 1- and 3-year overall survival rates. This prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Bihar state, India. The study analyzed 228 patients in Bihar with a median age at diagnosis of 55 ± 12.05 years. The most common symptoms included upper abdominal pain (26.3%), weight loss (14%), and ascites (13.6%). The majority of patients presented at stage IV (72.8%), with liver metastasis being prevalent (61.4%). Interventional biliary drainage was performed in 9.6% of cases, and systemic chemotherapy was received by 84.64%, while 15.36% opted for best supportive care. Univariate Cox regression analysis identified Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, stage, gallstone disease, and surgical intervention as significant risk factors influencing overall survival (OS) (p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed ECOG performance status (p < 0.001), stage (p = 0.039), and surgical intervention (p = 0.038) as independent factors impacting OS. One-year OS rates for stages II, III, and IV were 100%, 97%, and 44%, respectively, while 3-year OS rates were 29%, 4%, and 0%. Surgical intervention significantly influenced OS (p < 0.001). OS for surgical intervention was 28 months, and for inoperable cases, it was 12 months. One- and 3-year OS for surgical intervention were 95% and 11%, while for inoperable cases, they were 41% and 0%, respectively. Patients with gallbladder cancer, particularly in Bihar's Gangetic plains, face poor survival, especially with advanced disease. Adequate surgery improves outcomes, prompting a call for enhanced strategies, particularly for locally advanced GBC.

A Systemic Review and Meta-analysis of Laparoscopic Surgery Versus Open Surgery for Gallbladder Cancer

Introduction

Laparoscopy in gallbladder cancer (GBC) has a possible role in staging, radical cure, and palliation in gallbladder cancer. However, a few studies have advocated the use of laparoscopic approach and concluded the safety of this approach. This present study was undertaken to determine the safety and feasibility between open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with the non-metastatic GBC.

Materials and Methods

A systematic database search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, and Google Scholar for relevant articles. As a result, a list of such studies, clinical trials, published in English up to May 2021, was obtained,14 studies were included and statistical analysis was conducted using RevMan software 5.3 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre).

Results

The 5-year survival rate was reported in 13 out of 14 studies (1388 patients), and all compared laparoscopic and open approach. There was no significant heterogeneity in between the studies (chi-square, 10.66; df, 12; I2, 0%). There was significant higher overall survival in open group (389/850 vs 194/538 or 1.45, 95% CI (1.12-1.88), P value, 0.005). There was no significant difference in recurrence rate, operative time, blood loss, lymph node yield, and postoperative complication in between open and laparoscopic groups.

Conclusions

Our present study demonstrates that overall survival is significantly increased with open approach when compared with laparoscopic approach. There is no difference in recurrence rate, operative time, blood loss, lymph node yield, and postoperative complications between the open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy groups.

Histopathological changes in gall bladder mucosa in relation to the number, and size of gallstones, and analysis of the findings in the context of age distribution of the patients: A perspective

Backgrounds/Aims

To study histopathological changes in gall bladder mucosa in cholelithiasis patients, and analyse their relation to the number and size of gallstones. These findings were evaluated in the context of age distribution of the study population.

Methods

One hundred cases of cholecystectomy were part of the study, which was conducted in collaboration with the pathology department. The time period of the study was January 2020 to June 2021.

Results

Maximum cases had multiple stones (69.0%), while one third cases (31.0%) had solitary stones. While initial univariate analysis showed age (odds ratio [OR], 6.882; p = 0.043), gallstone number (OR, 9.1; p = 0.050), gallstone size (OR, 17.111; p = 0.013), and duration of symptom (OR, 34.125; p = 0.001) to be significant risk factors associated with gallbladder carcinoma, multivariate analysis found none of these variables to be significant. However, conditional multivariate analysis for the duration of symptom (p = 0.008; OR, 21.118) yielded significant p- value. With histopathological diagnoses, 5% of cases had gallbladder cancer.

Conclusions

This study shed light on the rising incidence of cholelithiasis in the young population and the high rate of gallbladder carcinoma in Punjab, India. Although gall stone characteristics (size, number) and patient age appeared to be significant risk factors when their individual relation with gallbladder carcinoma was studied, multivariate analysis, could not prove that. Conditional multivariate analysis showed the duration of symptom to be the only significant risk factor associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Further research with larger sample size is needed to study the rising incidence of gallbladder carcinoma, and the risk factors associated with it.

Diagnostic performance and safety of endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition of gallbladder lesions: A systematic review with meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition (TA) is widely used for various target samples, but its efficacy in gallbladder (GB) lesions is unknown. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to assess the pooled adequacy, accuracy and safety of EUS-TA of GB lesions.

METHODS

A literature search from January 2000 to August 2022 was done for studies analyzing the outcome of EUS-guided TA in patients with GB lesions. Pooled event rates were expressed with summative statistics.

RESULTS

The pooled rate of sample adequacy for all GB lesions and malignant GB lesions was 97.0% (95% CI: 94.5-99.4) and 96.6% (95% CI: 93.8-99.3), respectively. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malignant lesions were 90% (95% CI: 85-94; I2 = 0.0%) and 100% (95% CI: 86-100; I2 = 0.0%), respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.915. EUS-guided TA had a pooled diagnostic accuracy rate of 94.6% (95% CI: 90.5-96.6) for all GB lesions and 94.1% (95% CI: 91.0-97.2) for malignant GB lesions. There were six reported mild adverse events (acute cholecystitis = 1, self-limited bleeding = 2, self-limited episode of pain = 3) with a pooled incidence of 1.8% (95% CI: 0.0-3.8) and none of the patients had serious adverse events.

CONCLUSION

EUS-guided tissue acquisition from GB lesions is a safe technique with high sample adequacy and diagnostic accuracy. EUS-TA can be an alternative when traditional sampling techniques fail or are not feasible.

Pattern of Care and Outcomes of Gallbladder Cancer Patients: Retrospective Study from a High Incidence Region in India

Lakhan KasyapIntroduction  Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the 20th most common cancer in India with a crude incidence rate of 2.3 per 100,000 persons. Of note, it is relatively common in states which fall in the Gangetic plains. Patients often present in the advanced stage and have an unfavorable prognosis. Materials and Methods  From January to June 2021, 170 treatment-naive GBC (adenocarcinoma) patients who were registered at a tertiary care cancer center in North India, were included. Data were extracted from electronic medical records and was analyzed with SPSS. Results  Median age was 56 years (range 32-77 years) and 65.5% ( n  = 112) were female. Incidental GBC was found in 20% patient ( n  = 34). Majority of patients (79.4%, n  = 135) had preserved performance status. Advanced GBC was present in 85.8% ( n  = 146) patients (locally advanced = 37.0% and metastatic = 48.8%). Biliary drainage procedure was performed in 24% of patients (68% of patients with obstructive jaundice). More than half of patients (53.5%) were lost to follow-up without any treatment. There were 33 patients (19.4%) who underwent surgery and 20 of them received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiotherapy were received by 13 and 2 patients, respectively. Palliative chemotherapy was administered to 46 patients. The most common chemotherapy regimen was gemcitabine-cisplatin. At a median follow-up of 1.7 months (95% confidence interval, 1-2.4 months), 42 patients (24%) progressed and 24 patients (14%) died, with 6 months estimated progression-free survival and overall survival being 60.2 and 79%, respectively. Conclusion  GBC is an aggressive and lethal malignancy predominantly affecting females in the fifth decade with dismal outcomes. Improved access to health care, an aggressive approach in operable cases, and optimization of systemic and adjuvant therapy are the need of the hour.

Utility and limitations of intraoperative frozen section diagnosis to determine optimal surgical strategy in suspected gallbladder malignancy

BACKGROUND

Preoperative diagnosis of gallbladder cancer (GBC) remains a challenge. Unwarranted extensive surgery for benign disease and undertreatment for GBC pose challenges. We aimed to analyze the utility, diagnostic accuracy, and limitations of intraoperative frozen section (FS), for primary diagnosis of suspected gallbladder malignancy.

METHODS

Patients with suspected GBC underwent a cystic-plate cholecystectomy and FS for primary diagnosis. The procedure was considered adequate if FS suggested a benign pathology. A radical cholecystectomy was performed if FS favoured GBC, or in patients with high intra-operative suspicion of malignancy. All FS records were compared with final histopathology.

RESULTS

FS guided the surgical strategy in 491 of 575 resections (85.4%). FS had a sensitivity of 88.3%, specificity of 99.6%, a positive predictive value of 99.4% and a negative predictive value of 92.7%. The diagnostic accuracy of FS was 95.1%. With routine use of intraoperative FS, only 10 out of 491 patients (2%) required a revised surgical strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

For radiologically suspected GBC it is prudent to confirm the histological diagnosis by use of intraoperative FS before undertaking radical resections. This study emphasizes the safety and accuracy of FS as an adjunct for directing optimal surgical strategy in suspected GBC.

Characteristics and outcomes of gallbladder cancer patients at the Tata Medical Center, Kolkata 2017-2019

BACKGROUND

The north and north-eastern regions of India have among the highest incidence of gallbladder cancer (GBC) in the world. We report the clinicopathological charateristics and outcome of GBC patients in India.

METHODS

Electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with GBC at Tata Medical Center, Kolkata between 2017 and 2019 were analyzed.

RESULTS

There were 698 cases of confirmed GBC with a median age of 58 (IQR: 50-65) years and female:male ratio of 1.96. At presentation, 91% (496/544) had stage III/IV disease and 30% (189/640) had incidental GBC. The 2-year overall survival (OS) was 100% (95% CI: 100-100); 61% (95% CI: 45-83); 30% (95% CI: 21-43); and 9% (95% CI: 6-13) for stages I-IV, respectively (p = <0.0001).   For all patients, the 2-year OS in patients who had a radical cholecystectomy followed by adjuvant therapy (N = 36) was 50% (95% CI: 39-64), compared to 29% (95% CI: 22-38) for those who had a simple cholecystectomy and/or chemotherapy (N = 265) and 9% (95% CI: 6-14) in patients who were palliated (N = 107) (p = <0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The combined surgical/chemotherapy approach for patients with stage II GBC showed the best outcomes. Early detection of GBC remains problematic with the majority of patients presenting with stage III-IV and who have a median survival of 9.1 months. Our data suggests that the tumor is chemoresponsive and multi-center collaborative clinical trials to identify alternative therapies are urgently required.

RadFormer: Transformers with global-local attention for interpretable and accurate Gallbladder Cancer detection

We propose a novel deep neural network architecture to learn interpretable representation for medical image analysis. Our architecture generates a global attention for region of interest, and then learns bag of words style deep feature embeddings with local attention. The global, and local feature maps are combined using a contemporary transformer architecture for highly accurate Gallbladder Cancer (GBC) detection from Ultrasound (USG) images. Our experiments indicate that the detection accuracy of our model beats even human radiologists, and advocates its use as the second reader for GBC diagnosis. Bag of words embeddings allow our model to be probed for generating interpretable explanations for GBC detection consistent with the ones reported in medical literature. We show that the proposed model not only helps understand decisions of neural network models but also aids in discovery of new visual features relevant to the diagnosis of GBC. Source-code is available at https://github.com/sbasu276/RadFormer.

Survival analysis and prognostic factors of the carcinoma of gallbladder

BACKGROUND

The present study aims to evaluate the survival status of patients with gallbladder cancer (GBC) and explore the prognostic factors for the improvement and preventions.

METHODS

The study consists of 176 patients with clinically diagnosed gallbladder cancer; the study was conducted between 2019 and 2021 registered at Kamala Nehru Memorial Cancer Hospital, Prayagraj, India. The survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method; survival rate difference was analyzed by log-rank test, prognosis factors; and hazard ratio for mortality outcomes was estimated using Cox regression method.

RESULTS

The overall median survival time of patients was 5 months with the 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year survival rates of 24.4%, 8.5%, and 4.5%, respectively. The 3-year survival for patients with jaundice was 2.9%, liver infiltration (4.2%), gallstones (0.8%), and with advanced tumor grade (1.4%). Elderly GBC patients had lower survival rates (3.8%), while the 3-year overall survival for patients residing in urban areas dropped to zero. No patients in the tumor stage (T3/T4) and with distance metastasis stage survived in 3 years, while only 1.1% of patients with advanced nodal stage survived. On receiving surgery and radiation therapy, the 3-year survival rate increased to 19.5% and 35%, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis showed that urban region (HR = 1.568, p = 0.040), gallstone or not (1.571, p = 0.049), N stage (HR = 1.468, p = 0.029), and M stage (HR = 2.289, p < 0.0001) were independent risk factors for prognosis, while surgery or not (HR = 0.573, p = 0.030) was the protective factor for the prognosis of GBC.

CONCLUSION

The overall survival of GBC in the Gangetic belt is poor. The geographical region of patients, gallstones, and N and M stage was the risk factors for prognosis, while surgery or not was the protective factor for the prognosis of GBC.

A clinicoepidemiological and management profile of metastatic carcinoma gallbladder in the northeast part of Indian patients in a tertiary care center

Introduction

Metastatic gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a highly fatal malignancy and it is difficult to treat the advanced stage of GBC. In India, northern and northeastern states are the worst affected by this disease. We, hereby, report the clinicoepidemiological and management profile of 242 patients of metastatic carcinoma of GB.

Materials and Methods

In this study, a total of 242 cases of metastatic GBC (detected either on the first presentation or during follow-up) were managed at the Department of Medical Oncology tertiary care oncology center in the northeast part of India from May 2018 to September 2019. On presentation, all patients were subjected to detailed history and clinical examination, followed by requisite investigations and were treated as per the existent guidelines.

Results

One-hundred and forty-two patients were female, while 100 patients were male out of 242 patients. Female patients with metastatic GBC presented with the mean age of 54, while for males, 51.4 years. The most common presentation was pain abdomen (81.8%), while the second most common was anorexia (77.2%), followed by weight loss (62.8%) and mass per abdomen (60.7%). The most common site of metastasis recorded in our study was the liver (79.7%), followed by nonregional abdominal lymph node (69.4%) and ascites (64.4%). Out of the 242 patients, 24 patients had presented in poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (≥3) hence were deemed unfit for any oncological interventions. About 136 (56.1%) patients had presented with features of obstructive jaundice, however only 108 patients were subjected to biliary drainage procedure. After the biliary drainage procedures, only one-third (38 out of 136; 35.1%) of patients were finally able to receive chemotherapy.

Conclusion

In India, unfortunately, many patients present very late during the course of their illness. There is a need for the development of effective chemotherapy or targeted therapy and also there is an unmet need for patients' education. There has been an increase in the incidence of this malignancy, especially in the Northeast part of India; hence, it is the need of the hour to study various epidemiological and causative factors of the disease. Furthermore, the development of therapies for the effective management of this malignancy is really required.

Macroscopic Inflammation Status of Resected Gallbladder Predicts Therapeutic Outcome After Radical Resection for Gallbladder Carcinoma

Objective

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is one of the digestive cancers with poor prognosis, for which surgical resection is the only potentially curative therapy. Prognostic value of macroscopic inflammatory status of the resected gallbladder in patient with GBC has not been fully investigated. We retrospectively investigated the relation between macroscopic inflammatory status and disease-free as well as overall survival after radical resection for GBC.

Method

The subjects were 44 patients who underwent radical resection for GBC between January 2004 and April 2011 at Jikei University Hospital. We retrospectively investigated the relationship between clinicopathologic variables, including macroscopic inflammatory status and disease-free as well as overall survival.

Results

In univariate analysis, disease-free survival was poor in patients with Tumor-Nodes-Metastasis (TNM) stage ≥III (P &lt; 0.0001) and positive vascular invasion (P = 0.0001). Patients with macroscopic chronic inflammation tended to have poor disease-free survival than those with normal type (P = 0.0930). Overall survival was poor in patients with TNM stage ≥III (P &lt; 0.0001), presence of intraoperative blood transfusion (P = 0.0125), positive vascular invasion (P = 0.0055), and macroscopic chronic inflammation (P = 0.0281). In multivariate analysis, TNM stage ≥III (P &lt; 0.0114) and macroscopic chronic inflammation (P = 0.0350) were independent predictors of disease-free survival. For overall survival, TNM stage ≥III (P = 0.0054) and macroscopic chronic inflammation (P = 0.0124) were the independent predictors. Moreover, macroscopic chronic inflammation correlated with the presence of gallstones.

Conclusion

The macroscopic Inflammation status of resected gallbladder cancer correlates with oncologic outcome in patients with GBC treated by radical resection.

Palliation in Gallbladder Cancer: The Role of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Gallbladder cancer is a rare malignancy burdened by poor prognosis with an estimated 5-year survival of 5% to 13% due to late presentation, early infiltration of surrounding tissues, and lack of successful treatments. The only curative approach is surgery; however, more than 50% of cases are unresectable at the time of diagnosis. Endoscopy represents, together with surgery and chemotherapy, an available palliative option in advanced gallbladder cancers not eligible for curative treatments. Cholangitis, jaundice, gastric outlet obstruction, and pain are common complications of advanced gallbladder cancer that may need endoscopic management in order to improve the overall survival and the patients’ quality of life. Endoscopic biliary drainage is frequently performed to manage cholangitis and jaundice. ERCP is generally the preferred technique allowing the placement of a plastic stent or a self-expandable metal stent depending on the singular clinical case. EUS-guided biliary drainage is an available alternative for patients not amenable to ERCP drainage (e.g., altered anatomy). Gastric outlet obstruction is another rare complication of gallbladder malignancy growing in contact with the duodenal wall and causing its compression. Endoscopy is a less invasive alternative to surgery, offering different options such as an intraluminal self-expandable metal stent or EUS-guided gastroenteroanastomosis. Abdominal pain associated with cancer progression is generally managed with medical treatments; however, for incoercible pain, EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis has been described as an effective and safe treatment. Locoregional treatments, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and intraluminal brachytherapy (IBT), have been described in the control of disease progression; however, their role in daily clinical practice has not been established yet. The aim of this study is to perform a review of the literature in order to assess the role of endoscopy and the available techniques in the palliative therapy of advanced gallbladder malignancy.

Thirty-five cases of gallbladder carcinoma out of 4914 cholecystectomy specimens from a Nepalese tertiary care hospital - A retrospective cohort study

Introduction

The density of gallbladder carcinoma differs in different parts of the world. It is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis presenting in advanced stages due to paucity of signs and symptoms. This research was conducted to analyze the frequency of incidental and clinically suspected gallbladder carcinoma with clinicopathological correlation.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in the Department of Pathology, Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal from January 2005 to December 2020.

Results

The study included 35 cases of gallbladder carcinoma compiled over a period of 16 years. There were 11 males and 24 females with a male to female ratio of 1: 2.1. Age ranged from 29 to 75 years with a mean age of 56.51 ± 11.38 years. Incidental carcinoma was observed in 26 (74.28%) cases while clinically suspected carcinoma was identified in 9 (25.71%) cases. Gallstone was associated in 14 (40%) cases of incidental carcinoma. Tumor staging of both incidental and clinically suspected carcinomas showed 13 (37.14%) cases in T1 stage, 15 (42.85%) cases in T2 stage and 7(20%) cases in T3 stage.

Conclusion

Our analysis established prevalance of gallbladder carcinoma from 5th to 7th decades with female predominance and higher association of gallstones in incidental carcinoma. The principal histology in incidental carcinoma was well differentiated carcinoma while poorly differentiated carcinoma was encountered only in clinically suspected carcinoma.

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Gallbladder carcinoma is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis.

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Early diagnosis of gallbladder carcinoma is rare.

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Incidental carcinomas are more frequent than clinically suspected carcinomas.

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Incidental carcinomas have more association with gallstones.

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Clinically suspected carcinoma shows higher stage of tumor.

Role of Mean Platelet Volume in the Prognosis of Gallbladder Carcinoma: A Tertiary Centre Experience

Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an inflammatory marker indicative of platelet activation. There are several studies that suggest an association between the neoplastic process and cancer metastasis. We performed a retrospective analysis to investigate the role of MPV as a prognostic informative marker in gallbladder cancer. This study included 73 patients who underwent treatment for gallbladder cancer with curative or palliative intent. MPV was obtained and statistically analysed to investigate the association between the nodal status (N), the overall stage as per the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system, perineural invasion, and differentiation of the tumor. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS Statistics, version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). We found that the MPV values were significantly high in node-positive cases (OR = 3.623, 95% CI = 7.778-1.687, p value = -0.0001), cases in the advanced stage (OR = 3.623, 95% CI = 7.778-1.687, p value = 0.0001), cases with perineural invasion (OR = 3.396, 95% CI = 8.319-1.387, p value = -0.0001), and poor differentiation (OR = 2.327, 95% CI = 4.651-1.164, p value = -0.002 ). MPV is an inexpensive and convenient inflammatory marker that correlates with nodal positivity in the staging and prognostication of gallbladder cancer. This marker can be used to ascertain the risk status of gallbladder cancer.

The effect of preoperative jaundice in the surgical management of gallbladder carcinoma: An updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

An updated meta-analysis was performed on the significance of preoperative jaundice in the surgical management of gallbladder carcinoma (GBC).

METHODS

A thorough database searching was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library for comparative studies between jaundiced and non-jaundiced GBC patients. RevMan5.3 and Stata 13.0 software were used for statistical analysis. A total of nine measured outcomes were identified: resectability, R0 resection rate, concurrent bile duct resection, major hepatectomy, vital vascular reconstruction, combined adjacent organ resections, postoperative morbidities, mortalities, and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of eight studies were finally included. Newcastle- Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used for evaluating the quality of all included studies and the details were recorded in Table S1. Our pooled results revealed that preoperative jaundice was associated with a significantly lower resectability (p < 0.00001), a significantly lower R0 resection rate (p < 0.00001), a significantly higher concurrent bile duct resection rate (p < 0.00001), major hepatectomy rate (≥3 segments) (p < 0.00001), and vital vascular reconstruction rate (portal vein or hepatic artery) (p < 0.00001). Moreover, jaundiced patients experienced more postoperative morbidities (p < 0.00001), mortalities (p < 0.0001), and worse OS (p < 0.00001). However, jaundice was not related to combined adjacent organ resections (p = 0.58).

CONCLUSION

Preoperative jaundice in GBC patients seems to be contraindicated to curative resection and the optimal therapeutic strategies should be identified via multidisciplinary team rather than surgery alone. Candidates for curative surgery should be highly selected and experienced centers are preferred. More significant well-designed studies are required for further exploration.

Expression of Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, Survivin, Enhancer of zeste homolog -2, Cyclooxygenase-2, p53 and p16 molecular markers in Gall bladder carcinoma

INTRODUCTION:

Gallbladder cancer exhibits striking variability in the global rates, reaching epidemic levels for some regions and ethnicities. The basis of its variability resides in differences in environmental exposure and intrinsic genetic predisposition to carcinogenesis. There is little information present regarding genetic and molecular alterations in gall bladder cancer (GBC). We, therefore, have evaluated the molecular marker expression in GBC and studied their correlation with clinicopathological staging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This prospective observational study was conducted on newly diagnosed GBC patients from July 2017 to July 2020. After complete staging workup, the GBC biopsy samples paraffin block was tested for molecular markers estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), p53, p16, Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER 2-neu), Survivin, Enhancer of zeste homolog-2 (EZH2), and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS:

Fifty newly diagnosed patients of carcinoma gall bladder were included in the present study. Age was ranged from 29 – 69 years (mean 53.42). p53 was the most common positive marker in 74% of patients, survivin in 58%, COX-2 in 44%, and p16 in 42% whereas Her 2 neu and EZH-2 were positive in 16% of patients each. None of the patients of GBC were ER or PR positive. There was a significant difference between the various groups in terms of the distribution of histological grade and Her 2 neu (χ² = 9.886, P = 0.014) but not with other markers. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in terms of distribution of p16 and p53 with stage (χ² = 7.017, P = 0.037 and χ² = 5.861, P = 0.033) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS:

The present study shows the expression of molecular markers Her2 neu, p53, p16, survivin, COX-2, and EZH-2 in GBC. Now the time has come, and it is also the need of the day to establish early biomarkers of this highly lethal malignancy. It can be used in future for the detection of disease in the early phase and targeted therapy.

The Effectiveness of Identifying Primary Gallbladder Adenocarcinoma Utilizing Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound: A Case Report

Gallbladder carcinoma is rare and difficult to detect in the early stages of the disease process, due to lack of symptoms. Sonography is typically the first modality of choice for assessing gallbladder pathology due to its high sensitivity, portability, real-time imaging capability, and non-ionizing technique. Conventional gray-scale and color Doppler sonographic imaging may be ambiguous for diagnosing solid tumors, such as gallbladder carcinoma. In this case, gallbladder carcinoma was definitively diagnosed utilizing contrast-enhanced ultrasound, allowing for quick patient treatment options and an optimal surgical outcome.

Genetic association of MMP14 promoter variants and their functional significance in gallbladder cancer pathogenesis

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is relatively rare but shows high frequency in certain geographical regions and ethnic groups, which include Northern and Eastern states of India. Previous studies in India have indicated the possible role of genetic predisposition in GBC pathogenesis. Although matrix metalloproteinase-14 (MMP14) is known modulator of tumour microenvironment and tumorigenesis and TCGA data also suggests its upregulation yet, its role in genetic predisposition for GBC is completely unknown. We explored MMP14 promoter genetic variants as risk factors and their implication in expression modulation and the pathogenesis of GBC. We genotyped all single nucleotide polymorphisms of MMP14 promoter by Sanger's sequencing in approximately 300 GBC and 300 control study subjects of Indian ethnicity and, in 26 GBC tissue samples. Protein expression of MMP14 in GBC tissue samples was checked by immunohistochemistry. In vitro luciferase reporter assay was carried out to elucidate role of promoter genetic variants on expression levels in two different cell lines. MMP14 promoter variants, rs1003349 (p value = 0.0008) and rs1004030 (p value = 0.0001) were significantly associated with GBC. Luciferase reporter assay showed high expression for risk alleles of both the SNPs. Genotype-phenotype correlation for rs1003349 and rs1004030, in patient sample, confirmed that risk allele carriers had higher expression levels of MMP14; moreover, the correlation pattern matched with genetic association models. Overall, this study unravels the association of MMP14 promoter SNPs with GBC which contribute to pathogenesis by increasing its expression.

Incidental Gallbladder Carcinoma in Gallbladder Polyps: Challenges of Gallbladder Malignancy for an Endemic Population

Background

Gallbladder polyps are considered pre-malignant lesions of gallbladder carcinoma. This study aims to highlight the role of early cholecystectomy in the management of gallbladder polyps in an endemic population.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 2,076 lap cholecystectomy procedures performed at the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at a tertiary referral centre in Northern India was conducted and incidental malignancy in gallbladder polyps analysed. The 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer for tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) staging of gallbladder carcinoma was used.

Results

Of 54 patients with gallbladder polyps, 53 had benign histology and one had malignant cells in the lamina propria suggestive of T1a adenocarcinoma. The patient with the malignant polyp was older (57 years old) than the patients in the non-cancer group, which had a mean age of 45 (P = 0.039). The size of the malignant polyp was approximately 4 mm, significantly smaller than the average 7.9 mm size of the benign polys (P = 0.031).

Conclusion

Cholecystectomy needs to be considered early in the management of small-sized gallbladder polyps, particularly in areas endemic for gallbladder carcinoma.

miR-188-5p inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion in gallbladder carcinoma by targeting Wnt2b and Smad2

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) commonly occurs in gastrointestinal malignancy and has the fifth highest mortality rate among gastrointestinal malignancy. Recently, miR-188-5p, a small noncoding RNA, has been implicated in various types of cancer such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, oral squamous cell carcinoma, liver cancer, and prostate cancer. However, the effect of miR-188-5p on GBC remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that miR-188-5p was downregulated in GBC tissues, and downregulation of miR-188-5p correlated with larger tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and extensive metastasis. In addition, the overall survival time of patients with higher miR-188-5p expression was significantly longer than that of patients with low-miR-188-5p expression. Moreover, downregulation of miR-188-5p promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GBC cells, while its overexpression inhibited cell invasion and induced cell apoptosis, and arrested GBC growth in vivo. Importantly, miR-188-5p-dependent tumorigenesis was correlated with Wnt/β-catenin signaling and p-38/JNK signaling. In conclusion, miR-188-5p plays a direct role in GBC tumorigenesis. Our study suggests that miR-188-5p could serve as a novel diagnosis marker and therapeutic target in GBC.

Current status and future perspectives of minimally invasive surgery in gallbladder carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is the most common biliary tract malignancy, which is characterized by easy local invasion, lymph nodes metastasis, local vascular invasion. Hence, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can be performed in a limited number of patients. In our study, we reviewed the current studies on laparoscopic surgery (LS) and robotic surgery (RS) for GBC and analysed the limitations and difficulties of MIS for GBC.

METHODS

Multiple electronic databases were used for a systematic literature retrieval. All studies involving MIS of GBC were included (up to August 2019).

RESULTS

A total of 24 studies were included, of which 18 studies involved LS for GBC and six studies concerned RS of GBC. For LS, 16 studies contained relevant information of T stage, and 323 patients (98.8%) had T3 or lower stage; the average rate of R0 resection, conversion, postoperative complications and mortality was 95.3% (range 80.5-100%), 1.9% (range 0-16.7%), 13.4% (range 0-33.3%) and 1.0% (range 0-10%), respectively. For RS, four studies contained relevant information of T stage, and all patients were T3 or lower stage; the average rate of R0 resection, conversion and postoperative complications was 96.8% (range 81.8-100%), 5.5% (range 0-14.8%) and11.9% (range 0-36.4%), respectively. In addition, no patient had perioperative mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

MIS for GBC is limited to highly selected patients and is considered to be technically feasible in experienced surgeons. However, improvements in technical and instrumental are needed to reduce the associated postoperative complications and implantation metastasis, and to promote MIS in the treatment of GBC.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis improves pain in gallbladder cancer

INTRODUCTION

In gallbladder cancer (GBC), nearly 80% of patients present with pain in the upper abdomen. Narcotic analgesics are usually effective in relieving cancer pain, but induce adverse effects. Celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) is an effective alternative to reduce pain caused by upper abdominal cancer; however, no published data is available on endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) for pain relief in GBC.

METHODS

Patient with unresectable GBC with upper abdominal pain of severity ≥ 3 on visual analogue scale (VAS), not responding to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and tramadol were recruited prospectively over a 2-year period. EUS-CPN was done using the central approach in all the patients. Pain severity was assessed using a VAS, prior to EUS-CPN and at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after CPN.

RESULTS

The technical success was achieved in 19 of 21 patients in whom the procedure was attempted. There was a significant improvement in pain severity as measured by VAS compared with the baseline at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment (p < .001); at 8 weeks, pain severity was less but was not statistically significant. At week 2, nearly 95% of patients had either complete or partial relief of pain. This response declined to 63% and 61% at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. There was a significant reduction in daily requirement of analgesics in all the patients at 2 and 4 weeks compared with baseline (p < .001); at week 8, there was no significant reduction in analgesic dose.

CONCLUSION

EUS-CPN has a high technically success in most patients with GBC. It improved pain in about 60% to 70% patients and lowered daily analgesic dose requirement for up to 4 weeks. There was no procedure-related complication.

TRAIL receptors are differentially regulated and clinically significant in gallbladder cancer

Deregulation of the receptors of TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been reported in various cancers. In an effort to define the role of these receptors we profiled their expression in gallbladder cancer (GBC) and explored their clinical significance. Expression of TRAIL receptors' mRNA in GBC was analysed through reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and protein through western blotting, immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). mRNA data show frequent higher expression of TRAIL receptors in GBC samples. Death receptors DR4 and DR5 showed significant negative correlation with tumour stage, T stage and tumour grade; DcR1 transcript showed positive correlation with tumour stage, N stage, M stage and tumour grade. Similarly, IHC showed frequent positive staining for DR4, DR5 and DcR1in GBC samples. Cytoplasmic and nuclear DR4 protein showed negative correlation with T stage and tumour grade, whereas cytoplasmic DcR1 protein showed positive correlation with tumour stage and N stage. Nuclear DcR1 showed positive correlation with N stage. ELISA results showed significantly higher expression of secretory DcR1 in GBC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated significantly decreased mean survival of patients with positive staining of cytoplasmic DcR1. High level of death receptors identified the patients with early gallbladder cancer, whereas high DcR1 expression served as a prognostic factor for poor outcome.

Prognostic Model to Predict Cancer-Specific Survival for Patients With Gallbladder Carcinoma After Surgery: A Population-Based Analysis

Predicting the prognosis of gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) has always been important for improving survival. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors of survival for patients with GBC after surgery and to develop predictive nomograms for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) using a large population-based cohort. We identified 2,762 patients with primary resectable GBC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for the period of 2004 to 2014 and another 152 patients with GBC after surgery from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) for the period of 1997 to 2017. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year cancer-specific mortalities were 37.2, 52.9, and 59.9%, while the competing mortalities were 5.8, 7.8, and 9.0%, respectively. Nomograms were developed to estimate OS and CSS, and these were validated by concordance indexes (C-indexes) and evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The C-indexes of the nomograms for OS and CSS prediction were 0.704 and 0.732, respectively. In addition, compared with the 8th Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system, the newly established nomograms displayed higher areas under the ROC curves for OS and PFS prediction. The nomograms are well-validated and could thus aid individual clinical practice.

Can we assess the advancements of gallbladder cancer using red blood cell distribution width?

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare biliary malignancy. The relationship between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and cancer prognosis has been confirmed by many studies, however, the relationship between RDW and gallbladder cancer is rarely reported. Therefore, we aimed to assess the correlation between RDW and the advancements of GBC in this study.A retrospective study was performed on 108 GBC patients and 119 age and gender-matched individuals who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January 2012 to December 2018.The GBC patients had significantly higher RDW(%) levels compared to the healthy controls group (15.7 ± 2.4 vs 13.5 ± 0.6; P = .000). In addition, GBC patients with stage III+IV had higher levels of RDW(%) than stage I+II (16.1 ± 2.5 vs 14.9 ± 2.0, P = .011). Correlation analysis showed that RDW had positive correlations with TNM stage (correlation coefficient = 0.302, P = .002). The cut-off value of RDW was observed to be 14.5% in patients with GBC (area under the curve = 0.757, 95% confidence interval = 0.677-0.838, P = .000). Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that RDW was an independent risk factor for GBC lymph node metastasis.Our results suggest that elevated levels of RDW are independently associated with GBC patients and may serve as potential markers for the advancements of GBC.

LncRNA-HGBC stabilized by HuR promotes gallbladder cancer progression by regulating miR-502-3p/SET/AKT axis

BACKGROUNDS

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential factors that regulate tumor development and metastasis via diverse molecular mechanisms in a broad type of cancers. However, the pathological roles of lncRNAs in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) remain largely unknown. Here we discovered a novel lncRNA termed lncRNA Highly expressed in GBC (lncRNA-HGBC) which was upregulated in GBC tissue and aimed to investigate its role and regulatory mechanism in the development and progression of GBC.

METHODS

The expression level of lncRNA-HGBC in GBC tissue and different cell lines was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The full length of lncRNA-HGBC was obtained by 5' and 3' rapid amplification of the cDNA ends (RACE). Cellular localization of lncRNA-HGBC was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays and subcellular fractionation assay. In vitro and in vivo assays were preformed to explore the biological effects of lncRNA-HGBC in GBC cells. RNA pull-down assay, mass spectrometry, and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were used to identify lncRNA-HGBC-interacting proteins. Dual luciferase reporter assays, AGO2-RIP, and MS2-RIP assays were performed to verify the interaction between lncRNA-HGBC and miR-502-3p.

RESULTS

We found that lncRNA-HGBC was upregulated in GBC and its upregulation could predict poor survival. Overexpression or knockdown of lncRNA-HGBC in GBC cell lines resulted in increased or decreased, respectively, cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and in xenografted tumors. LncRNA-HGBC specifically bound to RNA binding protein Hu Antigen R (HuR) that in turn stabilized lncRNA-HGBC. LncRNA-HGBC functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA to bind to miR-502-3p that inhibits target gene SET. Overexpression, knockdown or mutation of lncRNA-HGBC altered the inhibitory effects of miR-502-3p on SET expression and downstream activation of AKT. Clinically, lncRNA-HGBC expression was negatively correlated with miR-502-3p, but positively correlated with SET and HuR in GBC tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that lncRNA-HGBC promotes GBC metastasis via activation of the miR-502-3p-SET-AKT cascade, pointing to lncRNA-HGBC as a new prognostic predictor and a therapeutic target.

Symptom Palliation in Advanced GallBladder Cancer: An Institutional Experience

Aim:

Palliation of symptoms of patients with advanced carcinoma gallbladder (GB).

Materials and Methods:

Sixty-two newly diagnosed patients of unresectable advanced and metastatic GB cancers were enrolled, and following clinicoradiological assessment patients were considered for palliative symptom management.

Results:

The most common presenting symptom was pain in 57 (92%) patients. Obstructive jaundice was observed in 29 (46.7%) patients. Patients were considered for percutaneous biliary drainage/internal stenting, therapeutic ascitic tapping, and pain control. Patients with good performance status were considered for palliative chemotherapy.

Conclusion:

Patients with advanced carcinoma GB were managed with various palliative procedures with the aim to improve the quality of life of patients because of jaundice, loss of appetite, nausea, pain, etc. Symptoms are distressing for patients.

Role of EUS-FNA for gallbladder mass lesions with biliary obstruction: a large single-center experience

Background and study aims  Although endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is an established modality for pathological sampling of pancreatic and biliary lesions, limited data are available on the diagnostic value of EUS-FNA for evaluation of gallbladder mass lesions, a common cause of obstructive jaundice. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of gallbladder mass lesions presenting with biliary obstruction. Patients and methods  This study was a retrospective analysis of data from patients who had undergone EUS-FNA for gallbladder mass lesions. FNA was performed on either a gallbladder mass, metastatic node or liver lesions. Outcome measures were diagnostic yield of EUS FNA and adverse events. Results  From April 2011 to August 2018, 101 patients with gallbladder mass lesions with biliary obstruction underwent EUS-FNA. The final diagnosis was malignancy in 98, benign disease in one, and two patients were lost to follow-up. EUS-FNA confirmed the diagnosis in 89 of 98 patients with malignancy (sensitivity 90.81 %); was false negative in nine of 98 cases with malignancy; and was truly negative in the solitary patient with benign disease (specificity 100 %). Positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were 100 %, 10 %, and 90.90 %, respectively. Two patients had self-limiting pain. Conclusion  EUS-FNA is a sensitive tool for evaluation of gallbladder mass lesions presenting with obstructive jaundice. However, because of low NPV, lesions in which FNA is negative should be further evaluated.

BRD4 inhibitor and histone deacetylase inhibitor synergistically inhibit the proliferation of gallbladder cancer in vitro and in vivo

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the bile duct and has a high mortality rate. Here, we demonstrated that BRD4 inhibitor JQ1 and histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) synergistically inhibited the GBC cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that cotreatment with JQ1 and SAHA significantly inhibited proliferation, cell viability and metastasis, and induced apoptosis and G2/M arrest in GBC cells, with only minor effects in benign cells. In vivo, tumor volumes and weights of GBC xenograft models were significantly decreased after treatment with JQ1 or SAHA; meanwhile, the cotreatment showed the strongest effect. Further study indicated that the above anticancer effects was associated with the downregulation of BRD4 and suppression of PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. These findings highlight JQ1 and SAHA as potential therapeutic agents and their combination as a promising therapeutic strategy for GBC.

Prognostic significance of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in patients with gallbladder carcinoma

The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an immune response-related indicator and it is associated with poor prognosis of various cancers. The carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9) is a tumor-associated antigen and it has prognostic relevance in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). We aimed to analyze whether preoperative NLR and serum CA19-9 were associated with outcomes of GBC patients after surgery with curative intent.Between January 2010 and May 2015, 90 resectable GBC patients who underwent curative surgery in our institution were included. All final diagnoses were confirmed by pathologic examination. The demographics, clinical, and histopathology data were analyzed. The Cox regression proportional hazard model and Kaplan-Meier method were used to assess prognostic factors.The cutoff values of 4.33 and 250.90 U/mL were defined as high NLR and high CA19-9, respectively. The univariate analyses showed that TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, the degree of tumor differentiation, margin status, combined hepatectomy, CA19-9, NLR, and PNI were all associated with overall survival (P < .05). According to the multivariable analysis, NLR (hazard ratio (HR) 3.840, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.122-6.947, P < .001), CA19-9 (HR 2.230, 95% CI: 1.297-3.835, P = .004), TNM stage (HR 3.864, 95% CI: 1.819-8.207, P < .001), lymph node metastasis (HR 1.679, 95% CI: 1.005-2.805, P = .048), and margin status (HR 1.873, 95% CI: 1.063-3.300, P = .030) were independent prognostic factors. The median survival time in low NLR and CA19-9 group was better than high NLR and CA19-9 group (P < .05).The preoperative NLR and serum CA19-9 are associated with prognosis of patients with GBC. High NLR and high CA19-9 were predictors of poor long-term outcome among patients with GBC undergoing curative surgery.

Tumor suppressor LKB1 inhibits the progression of gallbladder carcinoma and predicts the prognosis of patients with this malignancy

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) represents the most common fatal tumors of the biliary tract. The 3-year or 5-year survival rate for patients with this disease are 30 and 5%, respectively. Liver kinase B1 (LKB1), a primary upstream kinase of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) necessary for maintaining cell metabolism and energy homeostasis, has been found to be an important tumor suppressor gene in recent years, and its inactivation has also found to be closely associated with tumor growth, metastasis and cancer stem cell (CSC) proliferation. Nevertheless, the function of LKB1 in GBC remains unclear. In this study, we found that the expression of LKB1 in GBC tissues was decreased compared with that in non-cancerous tissues. LKB1 overexpression suppressed the proliferation, metastasis and expansion of GBC CSCs. Mechanically, LKB1 suppressed GBC cell progression via the JAK/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. The use of the JAK2 inhibitor, AZD‑1480, attenuated the suppressive effects of LKB1 overexpression on the growth, metastasis and self-renewal ability of the GBC cells, which further demonstrated that JAK/STAT3 was involved in the LKB1-induced suppression of GBC cell growth, metastasis and self-renewal ability. More importantly, the decreased expression of LKB1 was a predictor of a poor prognosis of patients with GBC. On the whole, our data indicate that LKB1 inhibits GBC cell growth, metastasis and self-renewal ability by disrupting JAK/STAT3 signaling, and may thus prove to be a novel prognostic biomarker for patients with GBC.

STYK1 promotes cancer cell proliferation and malignant transformation by activating PI3K-AKT pathway in gallbladder carcinoma

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract with extremely poor prognosis. The malignant transformation of GBC is associated with cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying GBC progression are poorly understood. We found that serine threonine tyrosine kinase 1 (STYK1) was elevated in GBC and was negatively correlated with clinical outcomes and prognosis. Overexpression of STYK1 in GBC cell lines gave rise to increased cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion, thus committing cells to undergoing EMT. In contrast, silence of STYK1 led to opposite effects on cell transformation. Consistent with STYK1 gene knockdown, AKT specific inhibitor MK2206 abrogated tumor promoting action induced by STYK1, suggesting that PI3K/AKT pathway is essential for the oncogenic role of STYK1 in GBC. STYK1 shRNA in GBC cells inhibited development of xenografted tumors compared with control cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that STYK1 is a critical regulator of tumor growth and metastasis, and may serve as a potential target for GBC therapy.

LncRNA-PAGBC acts as a microRNA sponge and promotes gallbladder tumorigenesis

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play roles in the development and progression of many cancers; however, the contributions of lncRNAs to human gallbladder cancer (GBC) remain largely unknown. In this study, we identify a group of differentially expressed lncRNAs in human GBC tissues, including prognosis-associated gallbladder cancer lncRNA (lncRNA-PAGBC), which we find to be an independent prognostic marker in GBC Functional analysis indicates that lncRNA-PAGBC promotes tumour growth and metastasis of GBC cells. More importantly, as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), lncRNA-PAGBC competitively binds to the tumour suppressive microRNAs miR-133b and miR-511. This competitive role of lncRNA-PAGBC is required for its ability to promote tumour growth and metastasis and to activate the AKT/mTOR pathway. Moreover, lncRNA-PAGBC interacts with polyadenylate binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1) and is stabilized by this interaction. This work provides novel insight on the molecular pathogenesis of GBC.

Use of gemcitabine-platinum in Indian patients with advanced gall bladder cancer

BACKGROUND

Gemcitabine-platinum (Gem-P) is the current standard for patients with advanced gall bladder cancer.

MATERIALS & METHODS

This is retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of 210 patients with advanced gall bladder cancer treated with Gem-P between January 2012 and September 2013.

RESULTS

Median age was 53 years, 65.2% females. In total,158 patients had metastatic and 52 had locoregional disease. Median number of cycles was 5 (1-12). At a median follow-up of 10 months, median overall survival/progression-free survival was 10/5 months, respectively. On multivariate analysis, patients who underwent prior surgery for primary and locoregional disease had a significantly better progression-free survival and those with locoregional disease had a significantly better overall survival. A total of 45.7% received second-line chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Use of Gem-P in Indian patients leads to slightly worse outcomes suggesting an aggressive biology.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Inhibit the Proliferation of Gallbladder Carcinoma Cells by Suppressing AKT/mTOR Signaling

Gallbladder carcinoma is an aggressive malignancy with high mortality mainly due to the limited potential for curative resection and its resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Here, we show that the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) trichostatin-A (TSA) and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) reduce the proliferation and induce apoptosis of gallbladder carcinoma cells by suppressing the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Gallbladder carcinoma SGC-996 cells were treated with different concentrations of TSA and SAHA for different lengths of time. Cell proliferation and morphology were assessed with MTT assay and microscopy, respectively. Cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis were analyzed with flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to detect the proteins related to apoptosis, cell cycle, and the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Our data showed that TSA and SAHA reduced SGC-996 cell viability and arrested cell cycle at the G1 phase in a dose- and time-dependent manner. TSA and SAHA promoted apoptosis of SGC-996 cells, down-regulated the expression of cyclin D1, c-Myc and Bmi1, and decreased the phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR p70S6K1, S6 and 4E-BP1. Additionally, the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin further reduced the cell viability of TSA- and SAHA-treated SGC-996 cells and the phosphorylation of mTOR, whereas the mTOR activator 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (C8-PA) exerted the opposite influence. Our results demonstrate that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) suppress the proliferation of gallbladder carcinoma cell via inhibition of AKT/mTOR signaling. These findings offer a mechanistic rationale for the application of HDACIs in gallbladder carcinoma treatment.

Need for Prophylactic Cholecystectomy in Silent Gall Stones in North India

One of the criteria for recommending cholecystectomy for silent gall stones, is gall stones in regions with high incidence of gall bladder cancer. Both gall stones and gall bladder cancer are common in North India. All tertiary care centres in India report high rates of gall bladder cancer (GBC) incidence and poor treatment outcomes in the majority of cases due to advanced stage of presentation. Csendes of Chile has reported very high incidence of gallbladder cancer in Chile and Bolivia and advocated prophylactic cholecystectomy in asymptomatic patients. Incidence rate of gall bladder cancer in Indian males is equal to that of Chile, whereas in females, the rates are almost double the rates of Chile. Indians have also been found to have high concentrations of heavy metals in gall bladder wall, and antibodies to tumor suppressor genes. In India, gall bladder cancer is the commonest GI cancer in women and fourth commonest cancer overall in the female population. In view of the epidemiology and clinical scenario of gall bladder cancer and proven safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, there is a need to act before it is too late in the current rates of gall bladder cancer. This study looks at the evidence correlating gall stones and gall bladder cancer, in relation to India. There is pressing evidence today to justify a strategy of prophylactic cholecystectomy in silent gall stones in North India. Data for this study was selected through an internet based search for literature concerning gall stones and gall bladder cancer in India, and for prophylactic cholecystectomy.

The Rationality of Resectional Surgery and Palliative Interventions in the Management of Patients with Gallbladder Cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate in a retrospective manner, the survival period and survival rate according to stages and groups after R0, R1, R2 resections and palliative interventions. Between 2003 and 2012, 67 patients diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. Patient demographics, the survival period, and survival rate according to stages and groups after R0, R1, R2 resections and palliative interventions were retrospectively analyzed. Sixty-seven patients were diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma. Thirty-eight patients (56.7%) were female and 29 patients (43.3%) were male. The median survival period was significantly longer in stage II and III diseases than in stage IV disease ( P < 0.001). The R0, R1, and R2 resection rates in patients who underwent surgery with curative intent were 67.7, 19.4, and 12.9 per cent, respectively. The R0 resection rate according to the tumor stages was 100 per cent for stage I, 87.5 per cent for stage II, 66.7 per cent for stage III, and 42.8 per cent for stage IV disease. The median follow-up period was six months (eight days to 36 months). During this follow-up period, 53 patients (79.1%) died. In conclusion, R0 resection rate decreases when tumor stage increases. The highest survival rates after R0 resection are achieved in patients with stage I, II, and III diseases. Radical surgery has no benefit over palliative surgery for stage IV disease in terms of survival.

Surgical treatment of gallbladder cancer: Strategy and optimization

Gallbladder cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the biliary tract. It is difficult to diagnose early due to the lack of special symptoms and physical signs. Most cases are diagnosed in advanced stages and the response to traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy is extremely limited, with modest impact on overall survival. Despite improvements in outcome associated with extended resections, selection of patients for such extensive surgery remains controversial. In this article, we analyze and discuss the key issues about the surgical management of gallbladder cancer, with the hope of a more comprehensive recognition of this malignancy.

Effects of oxymatrine on the apoptosis and proliferation of gallbladder cancer cells

Gallbladder carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract and is associated with a very poor outcome. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of oxymatrine (OM) on gallbladder cancer cells and the possible mechanism of its effects. The effects of OM on the proliferation of gallbladder cancer cells (GBC-SD and SGC-996) were investigated using cell counting kit-8 and colony formation assays. Annexin V/propidium iodide double staining was performed to investigate whether OM could induce apoptosis in gallbladder cancer cells. The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and expression of apoptosis-associated proteins were evaluated to identify a mechanism for the effects of OM. In addition, the RNA expression of relevant genes was measured by qRT-PCR using the SYBR Green method. Finally, a subcutaneous implantation model was used to verify the effects of OM on tumor growth in vivo. We found that OM inhibited the proliferation of gallbladder cancer cells. In addition, Annexin V/propidium iodide double staining showed that OM induced apoptosis after 48 h and the ΔΨm decreased in a dose-dependent manner after OM treatment. Moreover, the activation of caspase-3 and Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2 and nuclear factor κB were observed in OM-treated cells. Finally, OM potently inhibited in-vivo tumor growth following subcutaneous inoculation of SGC-996 cells in nude mice. In conclusion, OM treatment reduced proliferation and induced apoptosis in gallbladder cancer cells, which suggests that this drug may serve as a novel candidate for adjuvant treatment in patients with gallbladder cancer.

Sequential occurrence of preneoplastic lesions and accumulation of loss of heterozygosity in patients with gallbladder stones suggest causal association with gallbladder cancer

BACKGROUND

Causal association of gallbladder stones with gallbladder cancer (GBC) is not yet well established.

OBJECTIVE

To study the frequency of occurrence of preneoplastic histological lesions and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of tumor suppressor genes in patients with gallstones.

METHODS

All consecutive patients with gallstones undergoing cholecystectomy from 2007-2011 were included prospectively. Histological examination of the gallbladder specimens was done for preneoplastic lesions. LOH at 8 loci, that is 3p12, 3p14.2, 5q21, 9p21, 9q, 13q, 17p13, and 18q for tumor suppressor genes (DUTT1, FHIT, APC, p16, FCMD, RB1, p53, and DCC genes) that are associated with GBC was tested from microdissected preneoplastic lesions using microsatellite markers. These LOH were also tested in 30 GBC specimens.

RESULTS

Of the 350 gallbladder specimens from gallstone patients, hyperplasia was found in 32%, metaplasia in 47.8%, dysplasia in 15.7%, and carcinoma in situ in 0.6%. Hyperplasia, metaplasia, and dysplasia alone were found in 11.7%, 24.6%, and 1.4% of patients, respectively. A combination of hyperplasia and dysplasia, metaplasia and dysplasia, and hyperplasia, metaplasia, and dysplasia was found in 3.4%, 6.3%, and 4.3% of patients, respectively. LOH was present in 2.1% to 47.8% of all the preneoplastic lesions at different loci. Fractional allelic loss was significantly higher in those with dysplasia compared with other preneoplastic lesions (0.31 vs 0.22; P = 0.042). No preneoplastic lesion or LOH was found in normal gallbladders.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with gallstones had a high frequency of preneoplastic lesions and accumulation of LOH at various tumor suppressor genes, suggesting a possible causal association of gallstones with GBC.

Synchronous gallbladder and pancreatic cancer associated with pancreaticobiliary maljunction

We report the case of a 46-year-old woman who presented with chronic intermittent abdominal pain without jaundice; abdominal ultrasonography showed thickening of the gallbladder wall and dilatation of the bile duct. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography showed pancreatobiliary maljunction with proximal common bile duct dilatation. Pancreatobiliary maljunction was diagnosed. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed suspected gallbladder cancer and distal common bile duct obstruction. A pancreatic head mass was incidentally found intraoperative. Radical cholecystectomy with pancreatoduodenectomy was performed. The pathological report showed gallbladder cancer that was synchronous with pancreatic head cancer. In the pancreatobiliary maljunction with pancreatobiliary reflux condition, double primary cancer of the pancreatobiliary system should be awared.

Practical guidelines for the surgical treatment of gallbladder cancer

At present, surgical treatment is the only curative option for gallbladder (GB) cancer. Many efforts therefore have been made to improve resectability and the survival rate. However, GB cancer has a low incidence, and no randomized, controlled trials have been conducted to establish the optimal treatment modalities. The present guidelines include recent recommendations based on current understanding and highlight controversial issues that require further research. For T1a GB cancer, the optimal treatment modality is simple cholecystectomy, which can be carried out as either a laparotomy or a laparoscopic surgery. For T1b GB cancer, either simple or an extended cholecystectomy is appropriate. An extended cholecystectomy is generally recommended for patients with GB cancer at stage T2 or above. In extended cholecystectomy, a wedge resection of the GB bed or a segmentectomy IVb/V can be performed and the optimal extent of lymph node dissection should include the cystic duct lymph node, the common bile duct lymph node, the lymph nodes around the hepatoduodenal ligament (the hepatic artery and portal vein lymph nodes), and the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal lymph node. Depending on patient status and disease severity, surgeons may decide to perform palliative surgeries.

MALAT1 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of gallbladder cancer cells by activating the ERK/MAPK pathway

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), is associated with metastasis and is an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that MALAT1 plays an important role in other malignancies. However, little is known about the role of MALAT1 in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), which is the most common cancer of the biliary tract and has an extremely poor prognosis. In this study, we focused on the expression, biological functions and mechanism of MALAT1 in GBC and found that MALAT1 was significantly upregulated in GBC tissues compared with corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Knockdown of MALAT1 in GBC cell lines using lentivirus-mediated RNA interference significantly inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of the GBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, ERK/MAPK pathway was found to be inactivated in the GBC cell lines after MALAT1 knockdown. These results indicated that MALAT1 might serve as an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes proliferation and metastasis of GBC and activates the ERK/MAPK pathway.