THE LITERATURE contains many reports stating that gallstones are related to gallbladder carcinoma.1-3 To test this concept we reviewed 1,396 consecutive cholecystectomies between January, 1948, and June 30, 1960.
Method
The pathological index in the City of Kingston Laboratory which maintains a master file for the Kingston Hospital, Benedictine Hospital, Veterans Memorial Hospital, and the Margaretville Hospital was reviewed. No index was available for the year 1950; therefore this entire year was excluded from the series. Cholelithiasis was diagnosed from the cholecystectomy specimens. If the gallbladder had been opened in the operating room, the operative record and the x-ray reports were reviewed for evidence of gallstones. All diagnoses of carcinoma of the gallbladder were reviewed and confirmed by 2 pathologists.
Result
The sex incidence of cholecystectomies was 3 females to 1 male (Table 1).Nineteen primary carcinomas of the gallbladder were found in 1,396 cholecystectomy specimens, an incidence