Background: Gallbladder cancer remains a relatively rare malignancy with a highly variable presentation in the initial stage, leading to difficulties in treatment. It has the worst overall prognosis with the only chance of cure being through surgery. No database of gallbladder cancer has been published in Thailand so far.

Objective: The present study aimed to identify the initial presentation and evaluate survival rates by stage in a tertiary centre.

Materials and Methods: After the study had been approved by the ethics committee, Rajavithi Hospital, the records were
retrospectively reviewed of 523 patients diagnosed with suspected gallbladder cancer during the period January 2007 to December 2015. Clinical information, biochemical tests and radiologic findings were recorded, and descriptive data were presented as number, percent, and median. Survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: The data of the 31 patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were analysed. The presentation symptoms of the patients were abdominal mass, jaundice, gallstone-like symptoms, acute cholecystitis and gallbladder thickening. The median survival rates of the patients in Stage 0, II, III, and IV were 33, 106, 41 and 7 months respectively.

Conclusion: Gallbladder cancer can present with a variety of symptoms, and survival rates depend on staging at presentation.

Keywords: Gallbladder cancer, Incidence, Survival rate