Gallstone size and the risk of gallbladder cancer.

The relation between gallstone size and gallbladder cancer was investigated in a matched hospital-based case-control study of surgical patients in a predominantly white population. Stone size was considered to be an indicator of the damaging effects of gallstones on gallbladder mucosa, which may enhance carcinogenesis. A radiologist determined the size of the largest gallstone within the gallbladder by reviewing hard copies of the ultrasonographic examinations of cases and controls. Between 1983 and 1989, 83 surgical patients with gallbladder cancer were identified in 18 participating hospitals. Hard copies were available for 72 patients and 208 matched controls. For 43 cancer patients and 98 matched controls stone size could be determined. In contrast to two other studies, no relation was found between stone size and gallbladder cancer. The reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.