[Cholelithiasis and cancer: a study using precursor changes in a population with low incidence of cholelithiasis].

In order to assess the role of cholelithiasis in the pathogenesis of gallbladder carcinoma in a low-risk population for cholelithiasis and gallbladder cancer, we have studied the relationship between cholelithiasis and cancer. Our findings suggest that, both the relationship between cancer and cholelithiasis, and the frequency of precursors lesions, are very similar to those obtained in surveys carried out in high-risk populations for both conditions. Our findings bear out our hypothesis that cholelithiasis plays a main role in the pathogenesis of gallbladder carcinoma.