The role of estrogen receptors in the development of gallstones and gallbladder cancer.

The preponderance of gallstones in fertile women suggests that female sex hormones play a role in the pathogenesis of cholelithiasis. In a pilot study we found estrogen receptors and high concentrations of estrogen in gallbladders of persons who underwent cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis. This finding, as well as previous reports on estrogen receptors in diverse human tumors, support the hypothesis that estrogen influences the development of gallstone disease and gallbladder carcinoma.