Gallbladder cancer: epidemiology and outcome

Gallbladder cancer, though generally considered rare, is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract, accounting for 80%-95% of biliary tract cancers. An early diagnosis is essential as this malignancy progresses silently with a late diagnosis, often proving fatal. Its carcinogenesis follows a progression through a metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence. This comprehensive review focuses on and explores the risks, management, and outcomes for primary gallbladder carcinoma. Epidemiological studies have identified striking geographic and ethnic disparities - inordinately high occurrence in American Indians, elevated in Southeast Asia, yet quite low elsewhere in the Americas and the world. Age, female sex,…