Gallbladder polyps: Is a cancer phobia justified?

Abstract

Background: With better imaging technologies, the frequency of detecting GB polyps has increased, however, their effective management remains a clinical dilemma. Aims: This study was aimed to assess the true outcome of lesions suspected or diagnosed as gallbladder (GB) 'polyp' on ultrasound. Patients and Methods: Computerised hospital-based medical records between June 2008 and June 2014 at a medical sciences institute in Kerala were accessed to identify and review the follow-up of all cases identified as GB polyp on ultrasound. Results: Ultrasound examination was performed in 108 cases. Of these 46% had symptoms suggestive of gall bladder disease, 20% had nonspecific abdominal symptoms and for the remaining 34% it was part of routine health check-up. The mean polyp size was 4.7 mm. During follow-up, 20 (18.5%) patients underwent cholecystectomy and none of them came as true polyps on histopathology, 25 (23%) patients were lost to follow-up after primary ultrasonography and 10 (9.25%) patients died due to reasons unrelated to GB disease. Conclusion: Radiologists tend to over diagnose GB polyps due to the risk of malignant transformation of GB polyps and increased usage of imaging modalities. It is observed in this study that higher imaging modalities do not add significant specificity in the diagnosis of the true polyp. However, there is a need for a large cohort study to confirm the outcome.

Keywords

• gallbladder
• neoplastic changes
• polyps
• ultrasound examination