The Occurrence of Gallbladder Carcinoma in Yemeni Patients Undergoing Cholecystectomy in Two Hospitals

Background: Primary cancer of the gallbladder has wide 
geographical, ethnic and cultural variations with poor prognosis. 
Currently, there is no study about gallbladder carcinoma in Yemen. 
The aim is to detect the occurrence of gallbladder carcinoma in 
Yemeni patients undergoing cholecystectomy. 
Patients and Methods: A descriptive retrospective study of data of 
940 patients operated for gallstones in two university hospitals in 
Yemen between 2002 and 2006 was carried out with respect to results 
of histopathological analysis of gallbladder specimens. There were 
872 women and 68 men. Patients who have no histopathological 
reports in their files were excluded. Histopathological reports of 838 
patients were retrospectively investigated for gallbladder malignancy. 
Results: Gallbladder carcinoma was detected in 4 female patients of 
median age 66 years. No male patient was affected. Adenocarcinoma 
was the variety found in all four cases. All four patients with 
gallbladder cancer have history of longstanding gallstone disease. 
Conclusion: The study supports the hypothesis that gallbladder 
carcinoma is rare and mostly affects elder women with long-standing 
gallbladder stones. The occurrence of gallbladder carcinoma in the 
targeted sample is significantly less than that of the western countries. 
Cooperation between surgeon, sonographist and histopathologist is 
strongly advised, particularly when gallbladder malignancy is 
suspected