Modeling post-operative survival in patients with gallbladder cancer resections: The road to improved patient care?

In this letter, we discuss the article by Li et al published in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. Gallbladder cancer is a rare but fatal cancer that is often detected unexpectedly and at an advanced stage following routine cholecystectomy. Although the prognosis is poor, curative resections often combined with postoperative chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy can improve survival. However, targeted patient selection for the appropriate therapeutic approach is critical to minimize unnecessary morbidity. Using advanced statistical techniques, the authors developed a nomogram with the potential to predict survival after gallbladder cancer resection, identifying factors associated with long- and short-term survival. This tool could improve patient selection for surgery and post-operative treatment. In this letter, we provide background on survival nomograms including an in-depth discussion of statistical methods employed in this study, the use of nomograms in other forms of cancer, limitations to the model, and directions for future research.