Profiles of gall bladder cancer reported in the hospital cancer registry of a Regional Cancer Center in the North-East India

Gall bladder cancer (GBC) is a common malignancy amongst both males and females in the population of North-Eastern India. The age adjusted incidence rates (AAR) of GBC varies from 3.2 to 7.2 per one lakh population in males and 10.1 to 14.0 per one lakh population in females. 1 The incidence of GBC in females is remarkably high in the state of Assam. This part of the world is considered as high risk area for GBC, 2 which could be attributed to various risk factors including hitherto unknown environmental risk factors. 3 The incidence of GBC is proportionate to the prevalence of gall stone disease in the population. 4-6 A recent study by Sharma et al, has shown the incidence of incidental GBC in post-operative specimens of our population to be around 2.7%. 7 The presence of gall stones increases the risk of GBC by 4 to 7 times. 8,9 The socio-demographic composition of our population is heterogeneous with different patterns of cancer seen in different ethnic groups. 10 The incidences of GBC is on a rising trend in the different registries of North-East India. 1 Moreover, ABSTRACT