Appropriate extent of lymph node dissection in patients with muscle-invasive gallbladder cancer.

Background: The appropriate extent of lymph node dissection has not yet been standardized in muscle-invasive gallbladder cancer.

Methods: Patients who underwent surgery, and were histologically diagnosed with muscle-invasive gallbladder cancer were included. Patients were classified as having Na, Nb, or Nc disease if their nodal metastases were limited to the porta hepatis and extended to the posterosuperior pancreatic head lymph nodes (PSPLNs), nodes along the celiac axis, or superior mesenteric vessels.

Results: Among 137 patients with node metastases, 96 (70.1 %), 30 (21.9 %), and 11 (8.0 %) were assigned to the Na, Nb, and Nc groups, respectively. The Na (52.9 %) and Nb (34.1 %) groups showed significantly higher 5-year overall survival rates than the palliative surgery group (3.9 %), whereas the 5-year overall survival rates were comparable between the Nc and palliative surgery groups (18.2 % vs. 3.9 %, P = 0.055). Among 230 patients without node metastases, those who underwent lymph node dissection including the PSPLNs (88.7 %) showed a significantly higher 5-year overall survival rate than those underwent node dissection only up to the nodes at the porta hepatis (78.7 %, P = 0.045).

Conclusion: PSPLNs and nodes along the porta hepatis should be considered as regional nodes for gallbladder cancer and should be resected.