Risk of pancreatic and periampullary cancer following cholecystectomy.

AIMS: Cholecystectomy has been reported by several investigators to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. The trophic effect on the gland by increased release of cholecystokinin following cholecystectomy and perturbation of the neurohormonal pancreatic regulation, have been suggested as possible contributing factors. However, while several investigators found that this surgical procedure increases the risk, others have not. In an attempt to clarify whether or not patients who have undergone cholecystectomy are at increased risk for developing pancreatic cancer, we evaluated the frequency with which cholelithiasis and this surgical procedure were present in a large number of patients with pancreatic cancer.
METHODS: A total of 720 patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer (415 men and 305 women; mean age 62.6 years, range 22 to 79 years) and 720 controls matched for sex, age, social class, and geographic region, were enrolled in the study. All subjects were interviewed personally and in detail about their clinical history.
RESULTS: Cholelithiasis was present in 126 patients with pancreatic cancer (17.5%) and in 95 controls (13.2%), constituting a statistically significant association (odds ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.86). However, considering only the patients and controls in whom the diagnosis of cholelithiasis was made for more than one year before cancer diagnosis or interview, the association was no longer significant (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.75 to 1.44). Cholecystectomy had been performed in 93 patients with pancreatic cancer (12.9%) and in 71 controls (9.9%). When all subjects were considered, the odds ratio was mildly, although not significantly, increased (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.87). When only subjects who underwent cholecystectomy one year or more before the cancer diagnosis or interview were considered, the odds ratio fell to unity (odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.70 to 1.43).
CONCLUSION: This study, one of the largest on this topic, clearly shows that there is no evidence for an association between cholelithiasis, cholecystectomy, and pancreatic cancer.