Frequency of Preneoplastic and Neoplastic Lesions in Cholecystectomy Specimen from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Uttar Pradesh, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Cholelithiasis is known to cause a spectrum of changes, including inflammation in the gallbladder wall, cholesterolosis, atrophy, metaplasia, dysplasia, polyps, and eventually cancer. Gallbladder Carcinoma (GBC) is a rare and highly fatal malignancy. Aim: To determine the frequency of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions, along with demographic and clinical aspects of different gallbladder lesions. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 788 patients who underwent elective cholecystectomy for gallbladder disease at Hind Medical College, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, from August 2017 to October 2021. All patients underwent a history and physical examination, followed by routine laboratory tests and other investigations, including full abdominal ultrasound. Histopathologic evaluation of the gallbladder specimen was also performed after surgical resection. Categorical variables were presented as numbers and percentages (%), while continuous variables were presented as mean ± Standard Deviation (SD). Results: A total of 788 cholecystectomy specimens were analysed. The mean age of the patients was 42.49±1.39 years with female predominance 640 (82.05%). The majority of cases were between 40-49 269 (34.13%) and 60-69 399 (50.63) years of age. Preneoplastic changes were found in 764 (96.96%) cases, while neoplastic pathology was evident in 24 (3.04%) cholecystectomy specimens. The most commonly observed preneoplastic change was chronic cholecystitis in 532 (67.54%) cases. Other lesions associated with chronic cholecystitis were cholesterolosis in 76 cases (9.64%), xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis in 34 cases (4.31%), follicular cholecystitis in 30 cases (3.80%), and GBC in 24 cases (3.04%). Conclusion: This study observed that chronic cholecystitis and cholesterolosis, followed by xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, were associated with metaplastic changes in gallbladder pathologies. It is believed that metaplasia-dysplasia could be linked to GBC. Therefore, routine microscopic examination is required for all cholecystectomies. However, further studies on gallbladder carcinogenesis are needed.