Laparoscopic Radical Cholecystectomy for Primary or Incidental Early Gallbladder Cancer: The New Rules Governing the Treatment of Gallbladder Cancer

AIM: To evaluate the technical feasibility and oncologic safety of laparoscopic radical cholecystectomy (LRC) for primary or incidental early gallbladder cancer (GBC) treatment. METHODS: Articles reporting LRC for GBC were reviewed from the first case reported in 2010 to 2015 (129 patients). 116 patients had a preoperative diagnosis of gallbladder cancer (primary GBC). 13 patients were incidental cases (IGBC) discovered during or after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. RESULTS: The majority of patients who underwent LRC were pT2 (62.7% GBC and 63.6% IGBC). Parenchyma-sparing operation with wedge resection of the gallbladder bed or resection of segments IVb-V were performed principally. Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy was carried out according to the reported depth of neoplasm invasion. Lymph node retrieved ranged from 3 to 21. Some authors performed routine sampling biopsy of the inter-aorto-caval lymph nodes (16b1 station) before the radical treatment. No postoperative mortality was documented. Discharge mean day was POD 5th. 16 patients had post operative morbidities. Bile leakage was the most frequent post-operative complication. 5 y-survival rate ranged from 68.75 to 90.7 months. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy can not be considered as a dogmatic contraindication to GBC but a primary approach for early case (pT1b and pT2) treatment.