Gall bladder cancer in north eastern Libya.

Objective: Assessment of gall bladder cancer among cholecystectomy specimens.

Design: Retrospective study of all cholecystectomy specimens coupled with data from clinical oncology department.

Setting: Department of Pathology and Department of Clinical Oncology, Al Arab Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.

Subject: Gall bladder cancer among cholecystectomies and the pattern of survival of these patients.

Material: Histopathology records available on all cholecystectomies performed between 1982 and 1997. Data available on staging and survival of cancer patients from clinical oncology upto 1996.

Results: Eighty nine cases of gall bladder cancer were found out of 7352 cholecystectomies performed over a period of 16 years. It was found more commonly in females with a mean age of 58.1 years. It was also observed that the incidence in males above 60 years was almost equal to that of females. Gall bladder cancer when primarily detected by the pathologist in cholecystectomy specimens removed for symptomatic cholelithiasis, was mostly in stage I. Most of the patients in stage III-IV cancer died within one year whereas most of the stage I cancer patients survived more than two years.

Conclusion: Simple cholecystectomy is strongly advised in women above 50 years of age and in men above 60 years of age with symptomatic cholelithiasis.