title: The Cholegas Study: safety of prophylactic cholecystectomy during gastrectomy for cancer: preliminary results of a multicentric randomized clinical trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cholelithiasis is more frequent in patients after gastrectomy, due to dissection of vagal branches and gastrointestinal reconstruction.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized controlled trial was conducted from November 2008 to March 2012. Patients were randomized into two groups: prophylactic cholecystectomy (PC) and standard gastric surgery only (SS) for curable cancers. We planned three end points: evaluation of the number of patients who developed symptoms and needed further surgery for cholelithiasis after standard gastric cancer surgery, evaluation of the incidence of cholelithiasis overall after standard gastric cancer surgery and perioperative complications or costs of prophylactic cholecystectomy. The present study answers to the last end point only.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 40 months from the beginning of study, 172 patients were eligible from 9 Centers. Ten patients refused consent and 32 were excluded due to flawing of inclusion criteria (not confirmed adenocarcinomas and no R0 surgery). Therefore, final analysis included 130 patients: 65 in PC group and 65 in SS. Among PC group, 12 patients had surgical complications during the perioperative period; only 1 biliary leakage, conservatively treated, might have been caused by prophylactic cholecystectomy. 6 patients had surgical complications in SS group. One postoperative death occurred in PC group due to pulmonary embolism. Differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, no differences were significant in duration of surgery, blood loss, hospital stay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Concomitant cholecystectomy during standard surgery for gastric malignancies seemed to add no extra perioperative morbidity, mortality and costs to the sample included in the study.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncologic Surgery, Department of Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliero, Careggi University Hospital, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernini
authors.forename: Lapo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bencini
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchet
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cristadoro
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pacelli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Doglietto
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verlato
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cozzaglio
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bechi
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marrelli
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roviello
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farsi
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult