The true incidence of porcelain gallbladder is unknown, but it is reported to be 0.6-0.8%, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:5. Most porcelain gallbladders (90-95%) are associated with gallstone. Mean age at diagnosis is 32 to 70 years.
Patients with porcelain gallbladder are usually asymptomatic, and the condition is usually found incidentally on plain abdominal radiographs, sonograms, or CT images.
Based on early studies which revealed a high association between porcelain gallbladder and gallbladder adenocarcinoma (22-30% of porcelain gallbladders developing gallbladder adenocarcinoma), cholecystectomy has been routinely performed when a porcelain gallbladder is identified.
More
recent studies have cast some doubt on the association, and the risk of
gallbladder cancer associated with calcification of the wall may be as low as
5-7%. There is no accepted follow-up interval, but the annual incidence of
developing gallbladder cancer is likely to be <1% per year.
