Pathology report assessment of incidental gallbladder carcinoma diagnosed from cholecystectomy specimens: results of a French multicentre survey.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the accuracy of pathology reports on gallbladder specimens from patients operated on for incidental gallbladder carcinoma.


METHODS
Demographic data, details on pathological reports including gross and microscopic features section were recorded in 100 selected patients with incidental gallbladder carcinoma diagnosed from 2004 to 2007.


RESULTS
Pathology reports had a conventional format in 93% of cases, without any standardization. Turnaround time ranged from 1 to 35 days. Frozen sections were performed in 20% of cases. The reports failed to give information on prognostic histological factors: exact tumour site (missing in 55% of cases), depth of tumour infiltration within the gallbladder wall (missing in 10%), surgical margins (missing in 40% for the cystic duct margin), tumour differentiation (missing in 28%), vascular invasion (missing in 52%) and perineural invasion (missing in 51%). Lymph node status could be assessed in 44% of cases. Distances between the tumour and the cystic duct and circumferential margins were not specified in 68% and 84% of cases. Only 29% of the reports clearly stated the pTNM stage in the conclusion section. The pT stage with margin status and tumour site was only mentioned in 30% of the reports.


CONCLUSIONS
Pathology reports on gallbladder carcinoma from participating centres frequently lacked important information on key prognostic histological factors.
Department of Pathology, Amiens University Medical Center, Jules Verne University of Picardie, Amiens, France.
Denis
D
Chatelain
David
D
Fuks
Olivier
O
Farges
Christophe
C
Attencourt
François René
FR
Pruvot
Jean-Marc
JM
Regimbeau
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D005629:Frozen Sections; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010338:Pathology, Clinical / Q000592:standards*; D058028:Research Report / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
Gallbladder carcinoma; Pathologist; Pathology report