Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of the eighth edition of AJCC stage Ⅲ gallbladder cancer (GBC).

Methods We collected the clinical data and follow-up results of 3485 patients with AJCC 8^th stage Ⅲ gallbladder cancer. Kaplan Meier survival curves of ⅢA and ⅢB, T3N0M0 (ⅢA), T1-2N1M0 (ⅢB) and T3N1M0 (ⅢB) were drawn and compared. Single factor analysis and Cox multiple factor regression analysis were used to analyze the relation between clinical characteristics, treatment plan, stage Ⅲ subtype and prognosis.

Results One-year survival rate of stage ⅢB gallbladder cancer patients was 49.70%, higher than those of stage ⅢA(36.41%); the 1-year survival rate of stage T1-2N1M0 (ⅢB) gallbladder cancer patients was 65.52%, higher than those of stage T3N0M0 (ⅢA) (36.41%) and stage T3N1M0 (ⅢB) (37.05%). According to Cox multivariate analysis, age, tumor grade, tumor size, operation mode, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, AJCC 8^th TNM specific subtype and T stage were independent related factors affecting the prognosis of stage Ⅲ GBC patients (P < 0.01).

Conclusion The overall survival of stage ⅢB GBC is better than that of stage ⅢA. The risk of stage Ⅲ GBC death was T1-2N1M0 (ⅢB) < T3N0M0 (ⅢA) < T3N1M0 (ⅢB). Radical cholecystectomy (number of dissected lymph node≥6), radiotherapy and chemotherapy are beneficial to the improvement of prognosis of stage Ⅲ GBC patients.