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Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Gallbladder Cancer

Treatment Options

The three primary treatment options for patients with cancer of the gallbladder are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The best choice of treatment depends on the patient's overall health: the type, stage, and extent of cancer; and the patient's prognosis.

Surgery
Surgery is the most common treatment for cancer of the gallbladder if it has not spread to surrounding tissues, and it is the treatment that generally offers the best hope of curing the patient. The doctor may take out the gallbladder in an operation called a cholecystectomy. Part of the liver around the gallbladder and lymph nodes in the abdomen may also be removed.

If the cancer has spread and cannot be removed, the doctor may do surgery to relieve symptoms, such as blocked bile ducts. In such cases, surgery is not expected to cure the disease. If the cancer is blocking the bile ducts and bile builds up in the gallbladder, the doctor may do surgery to redirect the bile ducts around the cancer. During this operation, the doctor will cut the gallbladder or bile duct and sew it to the small intestine. This is called biliary bypass.

Surgery or other procedures may also be done to put in a tube (catheter) to drain bile that has built up in the area. During these procedures, the doctor may place the catheter so that it drains through a tube to the outside of the body or so that it goes around the blocked area and drains the bile into the small intestine.

Side effects: The side effects of surgery depend on the location of the tumor and the type of operation, among other factors. Patients are often uncomfortable during the first few days after surgery, but the pain can usually be controlled with medicine. The recovery period after an operation varies from patient to patient. Recovery from a cholecystectomy may be difficult and may take several weeks. Patients who have advanced cancer that is not curable and who are not expected to survive beyond a few months may prefer to avoid the surgery and its side effects.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation for gallbladder cancer usually comes from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy). Radiation may be used alone or in addition to surgery. When it is used alone, it is usually given to patients whose cancer cannot be cured through surgery and it is not expected to cure such patients. Rather, it is used to prolong life and relieve pain and other symptoms.

Side effects: The most common side effects of radiation therapy are tiredness, skin reactions (such as a rash or redness) in the treated areas, and loss of appetite. Radiation therapy may also cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells that help protect the body against infection. Most of these side effects can be treated or controlled, and in most cases they are not permanent.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Most anticancer drugs are injected into a vein (IV) or a muscle, but some are given by mouth.

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body to kill cancerous cells. It is generally given in cycles: a treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on.

Side effects: Chemotherapy drugs generally fight rapidly dividing cells in the body. Cells that divide rapidly include both the targeted cancer cells and healthy cells in the blood, digestive tract, and hair follicles. Depending on which anticancer drugs a patient receives, he or she may experience symptoms when healthy cells are damaged along with the cancer cells.

If healthy blood cells are destroyed by chemotherapy, the patient may be more susceptible to infections, bruising or bleeding, and fatigue. When cells in the hair roots or digestive tract are affected by anticancer drugs, the patient may have hair loss, nausea, vomiting, or mouth sores.

Not all chemotherapy patients develop all of these side effects, and the symptoms usually go away during the recovery period or after the treatments are done. Doctors can prescribe medicines and other treatments to control most of the symptoms.

The three primary treatment options for patients with cancer of the gallbladder are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The best choice of treatment depends on the patient's overall health: the type, stage, and extent of cancer; and the patient's prognosis.

Surgery
Surgery is the most common treatment for cancer of the gallbladder if it has not spread to surrounding tissues, and it is the treatment that generally offers the best hope of curing the patient. The doctor may take out the gallbladder in an operation called a cholecystectomy. Part of the liver around the gallbladder and lymph nodes in the abdomen may also be removed.

If the cancer has spread and cannot be removed, the doctor may do surgery to relieve symptoms, such as blocked bile ducts. In such cases, surgery is not expected to cure the disease. If the cancer is blocking the bile ducts and bile builds up in the gallbladder, the doctor may do surgery to redirect the bile ducts around the cancer. During this operation, the doctor will cut the gallbladder or bile duct and sew it to the small intestine. This is called biliary bypass.

Surgery or other procedures may also be done to put in a tube (catheter) to drain bile that has built up in the area. During these procedures, the doctor may place the catheter so that it drains through a tube to the outside of the body or so that it goes around the blocked area and drains the bile into the small intestine.

Side effects: The side effects of surgery depend on the location of the tumor and the type of operation, among other factors. Patients are often uncomfortable during the first few days after surgery, but the pain can usually be controlled with medicine. The recovery period after an operation varies from patient to patient. Recovery from a cholecystectomy may be difficult and may take several weeks. Patients who have advanced cancer that is not curable and who are not expected to survive beyond a few months may prefer to avoid the surgery and its side effects.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation for gallbladder cancer usually comes from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy). Radiation may be used alone or in addition to surgery. When it is used alone, it is usually given to patients whose cancer cannot be cured through surgery and it is not expected to cure such patients. Rather, it is used to prolong life and relieve pain and other symptoms.

Side effects: The most common side effects of radiation therapy are tiredness, skin reactions (such as a rash or redness) in the treated areas, and loss of appetite. Radiation therapy may also cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells that help protect the body against infection. Most of these side effects can be treated or controlled, and in most cases they are not permanent.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Most anticancer drugs are injected into a vein (IV) or a muscle, but some are given by mouth.

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body to kill cancerous cells. It is generally given in cycles: a treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on.

Side effects: Chemotherapy drugs generally fight rapidly dividing cells in the body. Cells that divide rapidly include both the targeted cancer cells and healthy cells in the blood, digestive tract, and hair follicles. Depending on which anticancer drugs a patient receives, he or she may experience symptoms when healthy cells are damaged along with the cancer cells.

If healthy blood cells are destroyed by chemotherapy, the patient may be more susceptible to infections, bruising or bleeding, and fatigue. When cells in the hair roots or digestive tract are affected by anticancer drugs, the patient may have hair loss, nausea, vomiting, or mouth sores.

Not all chemotherapy patients develop all of these side effects, and the symptoms usually go away during the recovery period or after the treatments are done. Doctors can prescribe medicines and other treatments to control most of the symptoms.

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This page was last updated on: October 5, 2009.

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