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.

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Figure 1 Cumulative survival after the diagnosis of metastasis to the gallbladder.

Metastases to the gallbladder (MGBs) are rare in clinical practice[1]. Although malignant melanoma[2] and renal cell carcinoma[3] are reported to metastasize to the gallbladder (GB), these data are based on autopsy series of these tumors. Reports on MGBs arising from malignancies other than malignant melanoma and renal cell carcinoma are usually in the form of single case reports[4,5]. There are few, if any, reports that describe MGBs from the perspective of the GB to this date.

This paper describes the clinicopathologic features of 20 patients with MGBs diagnosed over a period of 9 years at a single tertiary hospital.

We reviewed the pathology reports of all GB malignancies diagnosed with pathological confirmation from January 1999 to December 2007 at Seoul National University Hospital. We evaluated the clinicopathologic characteristics of the patients with MGBs. Patients were excluded when direct invasion of the GB from the primary malignancy was confirmed on imaging or intraoperatively.

By reviewing the medical records, sex, the primary origin of the MGB, age at diagnosis of the primary malignancy, age at diagnosis of the MGB, presenting symptoms and signs at diagnosis of the MGB, time interval between the diagnoses of the primary malignancy and the MGB, involvement of organs other than the GB, diagnosis of secondary involvement of the GB before surgery, treatment after the diagnosis of the MGB, and survival after the diagnosis of the MGB were evaluated. Overall follow-up survival information was obtained by contacting the Resident Service Division of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Seoul, Korea, and by reviewing medical records. The endpoints of this study were patient death or June 30, 2008.

The median survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Factors associated with prolonged survival were determined using the log-rank test. The factors including age at diagnosis of the MGB, sex, and factors associated with survival in the univariate analysis at P < 0.20 were included as covariates in the Cox regression analysis. Values are reported as the median. Two-sided P values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. All analyses were performed using SPSS for Windows Ver. 11.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). This study was approved by the institutional review board at our hospital.

The present retrospective analysis of 9 years’ experience at a single tertiary hospital contributes to our understanding of the clinicopathologic features of MGBs. MGBs accounted for 4.8% of all GB malignancies. The most common primary origin was the stomach. Twelve cases (60%) of MGBs were diagnosed metachronously with a median interval of 24.9 mo. The median survival after the diagnosis of MGB was 8.7 mo. On multivariate analysis, R0 resection was the only factor associated with prolonged survival; presentation with acute cholecystitis was associated with poor survival.

Malignant melanoma and renal cell carcinoma are reported to metastasize to the GB. In an autopsy series of 125 patients with malignant melanoma, nineteen (15%) had MGBs[2]. In an analysis of 687 necropsies of patients with renal cell carcinoma, four cases had MGBs[3]. However, the data available on MGBs are only from autopsy series of certain malignancies such as melanoma or renal cell carcinoma, or reviews of a certain metastatic carcinoma to the GB such as melanoma[6,7], or in the form of single case reports of tumors such as melanoma[8-11], breast cancer[4], and hepatocellular carcinoma[5]. Furthermore, there is limited data on the proportion of MGBs among GB malignancies.

Malignant melanoma is reported to be the most common origin of MGBs[1]. In this study, malignant melanoma accounted for 10% of primary malignancies. Interestingly, the stomach was the most common primary origin of MGB in our study. This may result from bias arising from the small number of patients. However, the fact that stomach cancer is the most common cancer in Korea may have resulted in this finding[12].

In the analysis of the factors associated with survival, R0 resection was the only factor associated with prolonged survival, which can be taken as a matter of course. The presentation of MGB with acute cholecystitis was associated with poor survival. A possible explanation for this finding is that a major infectious episode, such as acute cholecystitis, may have had a major negative impact on the patient’s survival.

Our study has certain limitations. This study is based on information collected from patients with pathologically diagnosed GB malignancies only. The number of patients is small. In addition, the primary malignancies and treatments are varied. Nevertheless, this study provides some insight into the nature of MGBs.

In conclusion, MGBs accounted for 4.8% of all pathologically diagnosed GB malignancies over a period of 9 years. The stomach was the most common site of the primary malignancy. The overall median survival after diagnosis of the MGB was 8.7 mo. R0 resection was the only factor associated with a prolonged survival.