Radiotherapy for advanced carcinoma of the gallbladder

The results of radiotherapy in 37 patients who were treated for carcinoma of the gallbladder from April 1975 to April 1992 are presented. To analyze the treatment results, patients were divided into four groups depending on treatment modality: intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) with surgical resection in 9 (resection group), IORT with palliative surgery in 5 (palliative surgery group), hyperthermo-chemo-radiotherapy for inoperable cases in 11 (HCR group), external irradiation for inoperable cases in 12 (ExRT alone group). Most of the patients in the resection group received ExRT. The HCR group showed better local response than the groups treated with palliative surgery and ExRT alone. The mean length of survival in the resection, palliative surgery, HCR and ExRT alone groups was 315 days, 144 days, 246 days and 74 days, respectively. Although no statistically significant difference in survival was observed between the resection and HCR groups, the relapse-free interval of the resection group was significantly longer than that of the other groups. The application of IORT for surgically resectable tumors contributed to improved prognosis and better quality of life. Although IORT for patients with unresectable tumors had little effect on survival, it was considered to play a palliative role in improving the quality of life. The HCR group had a significantly longer survival time and relapse-free interval than the palliative surgery and ExRT alone groups. In conclusion, the application of HCR for inoperable carcinoma of the gallbladder contributed to the improvement of prognosis and quality of life. (author)