• V P Bastiaenen, J E Tuijp, S van Dieren, M G Besselink, T M van Gulik, L Koens, P J Tanis, and W A Bemelman.
• Department of Surgery, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
• Br J Surg. 2020 Oct 1; 107 (11): 1414-1428.

BackgroundRoutine histopathological examination after cholecystectomy is costly, but the prevalence of unsuspected gallbladder cancer (incidental GBC) is low. This study determined whether selective histopathological examination is safe.MethodsA comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library was performed. Pooled incidences of incidental and truly incidental GBC (GBC detected during histopathological examination without preoperative or intraoperative suspicion) were estimated using a random-effects model. The clinical consequences of truly incidental GBC were assessed.ResultsSeventy-three studies (232 155 patients) were included. In low-incidence countries, the pooled incidence was 0·32 (95 per cent c.i. 0·25 to 0·42) per cent for incidental GBC and 0·18 (0·10 to 0·35) per cent for truly incidental GBC. Subgroup analysis of studies in which surgeons systematically examined the gallbladder revealed a pooled incidence of 0·04 (0·01 to 0·14) per cent. In high-incidence countries, corresponding pooled incidences were 0·83 (0·58 to 1·18), 0·44 (0·21 to 0·91) and 0·08 (0·02 to 0·39) per cent respectively. Clinical consequences were reported for 176 (39·3 per cent) of 448 patients with truly incidental GBC. Thirty-three patients (18·8 per cent) underwent secondary surgery. Subgroup analysis showed that at least half of GBC not detected during the surgeon's systematic examination of the gallbladder was early stage (T1a status or below) and of no clinical consequence.ConclusionSelective histopathological examination of the gallbladder after initial macroscopic assessment by the surgeon seems safe and could reduce costs.© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJS Society Ltd.

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