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Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a highly fatal cancer that can be cured through cholecystectomy if identified early. The presence of gallstones is the primary risk factor for GBC, but few people with gallstones develop GBC. A key question is what drives the development of GBC among persons with gallstones. We initiated the Chile Biliary Longitudinal Study (Chile BiLS) to address this question. From 2016 to 2019, Chile BiLS enrolled 4,726 women aged 50–74 years with ultrasound-detected gallstones from southern-central Chile, accounting for an estimated 36% of eligible women with gallstones in the study area. The median age was 59 years; 25% of the women were Amerindian (Mapuche), 60% were obese, 25% had diabetes, and 6% had cardiovascular disease. Participants will be followed for gallbladder dysplasia or cancer for 6 years. As of April 30, 2020, over 91% of those eligible completed the year 2 follow-up visit. Data being collected include epidemiologic and sociodemographic information, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and tooth counts. Biosamples being taken include baseline plasma, buffy coat, red blood cells, serum, blood clot from serum, and PAXgene whole blood (PreAnalytiX GmbH, Hombrechtikon, Switzerland). Complete gallbladder sampling is conducted for most participants undergoing cholecystectomy. The Chile BiLS cohort study will increase our understanding of GBC etiology and could identify potential risk stratification and early detection strategies in high-risk areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Chile, cancer is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. The major death- related cancers in women were breast, stomach, gallbladder, lung and cervical cancer. Alterations of E-cadherin have been linked to various cancers, as one of the main events involved in its dysfunction is the trigger of tumor invasion and metastasis. CDH1 gene inactivation has been demonstrated in diffuse gastric cancer and lobular breast cancer. Furthermore, inactivation of the FHIT gene to be associated with progression to more aggressive tumors. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) determinations were performed in fibroadenomas and breast cancers previously diagnosed by ER, PgR and Her2, showing positivity in all cases. Immunohistochemical detection of FHIT and E-cadherin expression in tissues with benign disease and malignant, may provide an important diagnostic and prognostic information in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Published data on survival of T2 gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) from different countries show a wide range of 5-year survival rates from 30-> 70%. Recently, studies have demonstrated substantial variation between countries in terms of their approach to sampling gallbladders, and furthermore, that pathologists from different continents apply highly variable criteria in determining stage of invasion in this organ. These findings raised the question of whether these variations in pathologic evaluation could account for the vastly different survival rates of T2 GBC reported in the literature. In this study, survival of 316 GBCs from three countries (Chile n = 137, South Korea n = 105, USA n = 74), all adequately sampled (with a minimum of five tumor sections examined) and histopathologically verified as pT2 (after consensus examination by expert pathologists from three continents), was analyzed. Chilean patients had a significantly worse prognosis based on 5-year all-cause mortality (HR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.27-2.83, p = 0.002) and disease-specific mortality (HR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.51-3.84, p < 0.001), compared to their South Korean counterparts, even when controlled for age and sex. Comparing the USA to South Korea, the survival differences in all-cause mortality (HR: 1.75, 95% CI: 1.12-2.75, p = 0.015) and disease-specific mortality (HR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.14-3.31, p = 0.015) were also pronounced. The 3-year disease-specific survival rates in South Korea, the USA, and Chile were 75%, 65%, and 55%, respectively, the 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 60%, 50%, and 50%, respectively, and the overall 5-year survival rates were 55%, 45%, and 35%, respectively. In conclusion, the survival of true T2 GBC in properly classified cases is neither as good nor as bad as previously documented in the literature and shows notable geographic differences even in well-sampled cases with consensus histopathologic criteria. Future studies should focus on other potential reasons including biologic, etiopathogenetic, management-related, populational, or healthcare practice-related factors that may influence the survival differences of T2 GBC in different regions.

Chile has high incidence rates of gallbladder cancer globally, particularly among Amerindian women, who also have a high prevalence of gallstones. We examined differences in inflammatory biomarkers between Mapuche and non-Mapuche women from the Chile Biliary Longitudinal Study, a cohort of women with ultrasound-detected gallstones. We randomly selected 200 Mapuche women frequency matched to non-Mapuche women on age and statin use Inflammatory biomarkers were analyzed using a multiplex assay and linear regression to assess associations of a priori markers (CCL20, CXCL10, IL-6, and IL-8) with ethnicity. Novel biomarkers were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and sufficient dimension reduction (SDR) to identify correlated marker groups, followed by linear regression to examine their association with ethnicity. The mean values of IL-8 were higher in Mapuche than non-Mapuche women (P = 0.04), while CCL20, CXCL10, and IL-6 did not differ significantly by ethnicity. EFA revealed two marker groups associated with ethnicity (P = 0.03 and P < 0.001). SDR analysis confirmed correlation between the biomarkers and ethnicity. We found higher IL-8 levels among Mapuche than non-Mapuche women. Novel inflammatory biomarkers were correlated with ethnicity and should be studied further for their role in gallbladder disease. These findings may elucidate underlying ethnic disparities in gallstones and carcinogenesis among Amerindians.

Gallbladder dysplasia can progress to cancer and may be associated with increased cancer risk at other biliary tract sites. Thus, its accurate identification is relevant both for etiologic understanding and for clinical purposes. Data on the frequency and distribution of gallbladder dysplasia are lacking owing to limited gallbladder sampling and inability to visualize dysplasia grossly. An expert pathology group used consensus criteria to review 140 totally sampled consecutive cholecystectomy specimens from Chilean women. Three cases (2%) revealed incidental invasive carcinoma, all T2, along with high-grade dysplasia (HGD). The surface areas covered by dysplasia or cancer in these cases were 9%, 37%, and 87%. Although the first longitudinal ("diagnostic") section of the whole gallbladder captured HGD or cancer in all 3 cases, the deepest focus of invasive carcinoma was not present in this section. Fourteen additional cases (10%) had low-grade dysplasia (LGD), which was typically very focal (covering <5% of the surface) and most often occurred in the fundus. LGD was not present in the diagnostic section of 5 cases (38%) and would have been missed without additional sampling. None of the cancers or dysplasias were grossly visible. Although HGD and carcinoma are likely to be identified in "diagnostic" sections, accurate staging requires total sampling. LGD is typically very focal and would often be missed in routine practice. To identify cancer precursors, additional sampling, particularly of the fundus, may be warranted. The predominance of LGD in the fundus also provides etiologic insight, supporting the contribution of gallstones and chronic inflammation., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Gallbladder cancer is very common in Chile and is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women aged over 40 years. However, there is limited information about the molecular changes involved in its pathogenesis. Microsatellite analysis was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays to identify genetic loci that were altered in neoplastic and preneoplastic conditions of early and advanced gallbladder cancer. Our findings were then correlated with clinicopathological variables and survival time., Methods: We selected 59 surgical specimens of gallbladder adenocarcinomas (29 early cancers and 30 advanced cancers) and 22 surgical specimens from patients with chronic cholecystitis from a high-risk area for gallbladder cancer (Temuco, Chile). Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to harvest tumor cells and preneoplastic lesions. Microsatellite analysis was performed using 13 different markers. The tumors and preneoplastic lesions were also examined with immunohistochemistry for hMLH1, hMSH2, and hMSH6., Results: We found that 10% (6/59) of gallbladder cancers showed high-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI-H), with identical proportions in both early and advanced cancers. In premalignant lesions adjacent to the six MSI-H tumors, we detected instability in two of six examples of intestinal metaplasia (33%) and five of six examples of dysplasia (83%). All MSI-H cases showed an altered pattern with the antibodies studied. MSI status was not associated with survival or other clinicopathological features. No MSI or immunohistochemical alterations were found in the chronic cholecystitis group., Conclusions: Microsatellite instability was observed in equal proportions in early and late cancers, and it was also found in premalignant lesions, indicating that inactivation of mismatch repair genes occurs early in gallbladder carcinogenesis.