Gallbladder Cancer | MedlinePlus

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• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

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Summary

Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.

Cancer of the gallbladder is rare. It is more common in women and Native Americans. Symptoms include

• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
• Pain above the stomach
• Fever
• Nausea and vomiting
• Bloating
• Lumps in the abdomen

It is hard to diagnose gallbladder cancer in its early stages. Sometimes doctors find it when they remove the gallbladder for another reason. But people with gallstones rarely have gallbladder cancer. Because it is often found late, it can be hard to treat gallbladder cancer. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• General Information about Gallbladder Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Gallbladder Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Abdominal Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Liver Function Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• MRCP (MR Cholangiopancreatography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Stages of Gallbladder Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Gallbladder Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Can Gallbladder Cancer Be Prevented? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Risk Factors for Gallbladder Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Surgery for Gallbladder Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Treatment of Localized and Locally Advanced Gallbladder Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment of Unresectable, Metastatic, or Recurrent Gallbladder Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Gallbladder Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Living as a Gallbladder Cancer Survivor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Palliative Therapy for Gallbladder Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Gallbladder Polyps: Can They Be Cancerous? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Key Statistics for Gallbladder Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• What's New in Gallbladder Cancer Research? (American Cancer Society)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Gallbladder Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Macrophage-rich niches regulate T cell dynamics at the liver invasive margin...
• Article: Preoperative Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index as a Potential Marker for...
• Article: Machine Learning-Driven Prognostic Model Integrating Lymphocyte-to-C-Reactive Protein Ratio and TNM Staging...
• Gallbladder Cancer -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• Cancer Support Groups (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Choosing a Cancer Doctor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Patient Handouts

• After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Topic Image

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

• Abdominal MRI scan
• After chemotherapy - discharge

Related Health Topics

• Bile Duct Cancer
• Gallbladder Diseases

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Gallbladder Cancer is the National Cancer Institute

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