Abstract
Akita Hepatobiliary Cancer Study Group has continued to survey the cases of biliary tract cancers in Akita prefecture between 1985 and 2001. Cases of bile duct cancers of 946 and gallbladder cancers of 731 were accumulated. The rate of non-curative resections was more frequent than a nation-wide survey, and 5-year survival rate after resections for bile duct cancers was lower than that of a nation-wide survey by about 10%. Five-year survival rates after resections for gallbladder cancers extending to mucosa and proper muscle layer were as low as 75% and 56%, respectively, and were also lower than those reported by a nation-wide survey. It was suggested that there could be a gap in the background between the actual treatment in local community and the conditions of treatment reported in a nation-wide survey that were conducted among high volume centers mainly consisting of university hospitals. Understanding the actual achievement of treatment in the own community by regional gastroenterologists and surgeons would be a key for improving the treatment in the concerned community.
