Background. For Tis and T1a gallbladder cancer (GbC), laparoscopic cholecystectomy can provide similar survival outcomes\ncompared to open cholecystectomy. However, for patients affected by resectable T1b or more advanced GbC, open approach\nradical cholecystectomy (RC), consisting in gallbladder liver bed resection or segment 4b-5 bisegmentectomy, with locoregional\nlymphadenectomy, is considered the gold standard while minimally invasive RC (MiRC) is skeptically considered. Aim. To analyze\ncurrent literature on perioperative and oncologic outcomes of MiRC for patients affected by GbC. Methods. A Medline review of\npublished articles until June 2016 concerningMiRC for GbC was performed. Results.Data relevant for this review were presented in\n13 articles, including 152 patients undergoing an attempt of MiRC for GbC. No randomized clinical trial was found.The approach\nwas laparoscopic in 147 patients and robotic in five. Conversion was required in 15 (10%) patients. Postoperative complications\nrate was 10% with no mortality. Long-term survival outcomes were reported by 11 studies, two of them showing similar oncologic\nresults when comparing MiRC with matched open RC. Conclusions. Although randomized clinical trials are still lacking and only\ndescriptive studies reporting on limited number of patients are available, current literature seems suggesting that when performed\nat highly specialized centers, MiRC for GbC is safe and feasible and has oncologic outcomes comparable to open RC.
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