Surgical management of gallbladder sarcomatoid carcinoma

Aim: To study the behavior as well as optimal treatment of gallbladder sarcomatoid carcinoma, we reviewed the results of treatment of gallbladder sarcomatoid carcinoma from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Methods: From 1987 to 2005, six patients were diagnosed with gallbladder sarcomatoid carcinoma and treated at our institution. Tumor staging was based on 2002 revised tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging for gall bladder cancer from the American Joint Committee on Cancer. The clinical presentation, laboratory data and preoperative workup were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Five patients were female and one was male. The age ranged from 51 to 66 years (median, 58 years). Surgical procedures included three curative resections, two palliative resections and one biopsy. There were two surgical complications (33.3%) and one case of surgical mortality (16.7%). The follow-up time ranged from 30 d to 5 mo. The median survival was 2.5 mo. The prognosis was extremely poor, even after curative resection and postoperative chemotherapy. Conclusion: The prognosis of gallbladder sarcomatoid carcinoma was not dependent on TNM stage and was always dismal. The clinicopathological features were different from those of gall bladder cancer.