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| Adenocarcinoma |
| Etiology •Cancer of the gallbladder is strongly associated with stone disease. •Even in patients with gallstones, the risk of carcinoma is low. |
| Pathogenesis •Unknown, |
| Epidemiology •Approximately 6,000 new cases of adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder are diagnosed in the United States per year. •The male to female ratio is 4.1. •The mean age at the time of diagnosis is 70 years. |
| General Gross Description •Grossly, carcinoma of the gallbladder can either extend centrifugally, infiltrating into the wall of the gallbladder or be exophytic, growing as a fungating mass into the cavity of the bladder. |
| General Microscopic Description •Most carcinomas of the gallbladder are well differentiated adenocarcinomas. •Other forms include papillary variety, poorly differentiated, or with squamous metaplasia. |
| Clinical Correlation •Symptoms include relentless pain in the right upper quadrant. •This pain may be associated with weight loss, jaundice and palpable mass. •The tumor is seldom limited to the gallbladder by the time the diagnosis is established, unless found incidentally at cholecystectomy. •Approximately 95% of the patients die within the first year after diagnosis. •The five year survival rate is less than 10%, and is often as low as 1%. |
| References • Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. 891 • Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th Ed: Isselbach et. al. (eds). New York, McGraw-Hill, 1994, pp. 1512 |
| Adenocarcinoma |
| Synopsis by: T.V.Rajan, M.D., Ph.D. (T57000M81403)[582] |
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