Metastasis to the gallbladder:A single-center experience of 20 cases in South Korea

AIM:To evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with metastases to the gallbladder (MGBs).METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective study of 20 patients with MGBs diagnosed pathologically from 1999 to 2007.RESULTS: Among 417 gallbladder (GB) malignancies, 20 (4.8%) were MGBs. The primary malignancies originated from the stomach (n=8), colorectum (n=3), liver (n=2), kidney (n=2), skin (n=2), extrahepatic bile duct (n=1), uterine cervix (n=1), and appendix (n=1). Twelve patients were diagnosed metachronously, presenting with cholecystitis (n=4), abdominal pain (n=2), jaundice (n=1), weight loss (n=1), and serum CA 19-9 elevation (n=1); five patients were asymptomatic. The median survival after the diagnosis of MGB was 8.7 mo. On Cox regression analysis, R0 resection was the only factor associated with a prolonged survival [hazard ratio (HR):0.01,P =0.002]; presentation with cholecystitis was associated with poor survival (HR:463.27, P=0.006).CONCLUSION: MGBs accounted for 4.8% of all pathologically diagnosed GB malignancies. The most common origin was the stomach. The median survival of MGB was 8.7 mo.