ABSTRACT
The natural history of gallbladder cancer has been defined through many retrospective reviews and large surveillance programs. The overall 5-year survival is consistently less than 5%, with a median survival of 5 to 8 months. Piehler et al. ( 5 ) reviewed 5,836 cases in the world’s literature from 1960 to 1978. They reported an overall 5-year survival of 4.1% and a 1-year survival of 11.8%. Only about 25% were resectable for cure, and of those resected for cure, 16.5% survived 5 years.
