CHRONIC TYPHOID CARRIAGE AND CARCINOMA OF THE GALLBLADDER

Chronic microbial infections and/or their carrier state have been repo rted to be associated with particular cancers. Since typhoid infection s and carcinoma of the gallbladder (the site where salmonella usually persists) are endemic in northern India, it was considered important t o explore the relationship between the two. In the present study, a to tal of 1001 bile specimens collected from cases of carcinoma of the ga llbladder (28), cholelithiasis (56) and individuals without biliary pa thology (17) were subjected to aerobic cultures that had been enriched for salmonella. Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi-A could be detected in a significantly higher (P < 0.05) number in patients with carcinom a of the gallbladder as compared with cholelithiasis and control group s. The existence of such an association indicates that detection and e radication of typhoid carriers may lead to a decrease in the incidence of carcinoma of the gallbladder along with typhoid fever.