The Multidisciplinary Treatment of Advanced Gallbladder Cancer to Disease-Free Survival: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Gallbladder cancer is the most common malignant tumor in the biliary system and is characterized by strong aggressiveness and an extremely poor prognosis. Current treatment for advanced gallbladder cancer remains unsatisfactory. Here we reported a patient with stage IV gallbladder cancer who achieved disease-free survival by multidisciplinary treatment.Case presentation: A 73-year-old man presented to our hospital with right abdominal pain for 3 days and was diagnosed with advanced gallbladder cancer with multiple intrahepatic metastases and distant lymph node metastases. The patient initially received chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radioactive seed implantation, and immunotherapy as there was no specific indications for radical surgery. With the progression of these adjuvant therapies, the patient’s tumor makers gradually decreased but remained higher than normal, lymph node metastases gradually disappeared, and intrahepatic metastases were gradually limited to the left liver. Finally, the patient received a radical surgery of left hepatectomy with partial diaphragmatic resection and radical lymphadenectomy. To date, the patient has survived for more than six years post-treatment, and the level of tumor markers is normal and the imaging examination shows no signs of disease recurrence.Conclusion: The treatment of advanced gallbladder cancer remains pessimistic in the current medical arena. This successful case is an inspiration and we believe that multidisciplinary treatment can benefit patients with advanced gallbladder cancer and help them achieve long-term survival or even disease-free survival.