THE EARLY STAGE ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE GALLBLADDER INCIDENTALLY DIAGNOSED

Aim of the study: Adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder diagnosed incidentally can reach up to 50% of gallbladder cancer cases, but with a life expectancy double that of those diagnosed non-incidentally. Gallstones represent a risk factor for this pathology. Material and method. We conducted a retrospective study, between 2011-2016, on a number of 341 patients, over 18 years old, cholecystectomized for bladder lithiasis. Acute cholecystitis, patients with acute or chronic inflammatory diseases, open surgical interventions, choledocholithiasis, cholelithiasis and associated liver pathology were excluded. Results: The histopathological examination identified 8 cases of adenocarcinoma, 2 well differentiated, 6 moderately differentiated. Adenocarcinoma represented 2.35% of the total cases studied. The average age of appearance of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma was lower than that of moderately differentiated (50.00 ± 2.828 vs 58.00 ± 3.347). The most frequent cases were in female patients (87.5%). Urban origin was the most common, only 12.5% of patients with gallbladder neoplasms came from rural areas. Conclusions: All patients with gallstones should undergo cholecystectomy followed by histopathological examination in order to identify an early adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder.