Although carcinoma is rather uncommon in the gallbladder, it does occur in 0.2% to 0.4%8,18 of surgically removed gallbladders. Since cholecystectomy is a common operation, most surgeons are likely to encounter it during their careers. In the minds of most members of the profession, carcinoma of the gallbladder is an incurable disease. This impression is due, in part, to the influence of reports of earlier series in which ineffective surgical methods were used to treat the disease with a uniformly fatal outcome. Although the approach to the treatment of this disease has been more aggressive in recent years, with good results, most surgeons still consider the disease incurable. This study was undertaken in an attempt to determine the reason for the poor results of surgical treatment in carcinoma of the gallbladder, and to determine what may constitute an adequate surgical attack. Material The files of all cases of carcinoma