# Management of incidental gallbladder cancer in the nationwide CAPBIL study

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mcclements-capbil-incidental-gallbladder-cancer-bjs-2026/  
OnCo record `paper-mcclements-capbil-incidental-gallbladder-cancer-bjs-2026` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The first UK-wide picture of gallbladder cancers found by chance: across 24 centres over nine years, two thirds went on to liver surgery and those who did stayed free of disease far longer.

## Summary

UK HPB Research Collaborative Group study of 285 patients diagnosed with incidental gallbladder cancer after cholecystectomy between January 2014 and December 2022 at 24 UK centres. Median follow-up was 31 months; five-year disease-free survival was 41.5 percent and overall survival 45.1 percent. Of 193 patients (67.7 percent) who underwent liver resection, 97.9 percent had segment 4b/5 resection. Liver resection was associated with longer disease-free survival (51 versus 15 months). Adverse tumour biology was associated with poorer survival.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Tags: gallbladder-evidence
- Journal: British Journal of Surgery
- Year: 2026
- DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znag050
- Authors: McClements J, Lee WT, Koh A, et al.
- Findings: 285 incidental gallbladder cancers at 24 UK centres, 2014 to 2022; five-year disease-free survival 41.5 percent, overall survival 45.1 percent.; 193 patients (67.7 percent) underwent liver resection, 97.9 percent of them segment 4b/5.; Median disease-free survival 51 months with liver resection vs 15 months without.
- What it means: This is the UK baseline for the incidental cancer pathway: a re-resection rate well above the Dutch registry's 24 percent, with the same selection caveat. The abstract leaves out the histology, referral and timing detail; the full paper holds it.
- Caveats: Retrospective, unmatched comparison; patients not offered surgery were likely sicker or more advanced.; Abstract reports disease-free survival months without confidence intervals.

## Sources

- Br J Surg 2026: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znag050
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42013358/

## Connected records

- key papers: [Surgical outcomes in gallbladder cancer: evidence from the UK nationwide CAPBIL study](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mcclements-capbil-surgical-outcomes-gallbladder-cancer-hpb-2026/)
- cancers: [Gallbladder cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder/), [Incidental gallbladder cancer (found after cholecystectomy)](https://onco.cc/cancers/incidental-gallbladder-cancer/)
- institutions: [Liverpool University Hospitals HPB centre (Aintree)](https://onco.cc/institutions/liverpool-hpb-centre/)
- terms: [Radical (extended) cholecystectomy](https://onco.cc/terms/radical-cholecystectomy/)
- trials: [BILCAP](https://onco.cc/trials/bilcap/)
- people: [Hassan Malik](https://onco.cc/people/hassan-malik/)
- roadmaps: [Gallbladder cancer roadmap: from a chance finding at gallstone surgery to a disease with its own trials](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/gallbladder-cancer-roadmap/)
- ideas: [A national incidental gallbladder cancer pathway: histology for every gallbladder, referral within two weeks, re-resection by eight](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-gbc-national-incidental-cancer-pathway/)

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