International Burden Of Gallbladder Cancer

BRAY F. ² , JEMAL A. ¹ , ISLAMI F. ¹ , SIEGEL R. ¹

Purpose: Gallbladder cancer is highly fatal and has a unique global distribution. Previous studies described variations in rates and temporal trends across countries; we have undertaken an updated analysis of current patterns and trends in gallbladder cancer mortality using the most recent available data.

Methods: The International Agency for Research on Cancer’s GLOBOCAN 2012 was used to report country-specific estimates for 2012. We also present national age-standardized (world) mortality rates by sex up to 2014 and calculate the ratio of mortality rates in 2009-2013 relative to 1989-1993 by sex for countries with available data using the WHO Mortality Database.

Results: In 2012, the highest estimated mortality rates in the world were in South America and Asia, with rates as high as 10.3 deaths (per 100,000) among females in Chile. Rates among females were also high in Bolivia (10.1), Bangladesh (5.9), and Peru (5.0). The highest mortality rates among males were in Laos (6.3), South Korea (5.8), and Chile (5.0). Among high-risk populations with long-term mortality data, rates decreased in the past decades in both males and females. For example, mortality rates decreased by about 50% among females in Chile (15.5 in 1997 to 8.6 in 2013) and by 30% among males in South Korea (7.6 in 2001 to 5.1 in 2013). Between 1989-1993 and 2009-2013, rates decreased in both sexes for 27 of 33 countries considered in the analyses, with decreases of 30% to 60% in most lower-risk countries within Europe, Northern America, and Oceania.

Conclusions: Death rates are decreasing in most countries considered in this analysis.  Further studies are needed to examine factors contributing to this pattern.

Funding source: American Cancer Society Intramural Research