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Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Gallbladder Cancer

What Is Gallbladder Cancer?

Gallbladder cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells develop in the tissues of the gallbladder, a pear-shaped organ that lies just under the liver in the upper abdomen. The gallbladder is part of the digestive system. It plays an important role in digestion by storing and releasing bile into the stomach to help digest fat.

In 2009, the American Cancer Society predicts that 9,760 new cases of gallbladder cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Approximately 3,370 people will die as a result of this disease. Although it is not a common cancer, it is much more common among certain groups of people and in particular areas of the country and world than others.

More than twice as many women as men develop the disease. It is more common among white women than among black women and, in the United States, is most common among Mexican-Americans and Native Americans. It almost always occurs in persons older than age 70.

This page was last updated on: January 29, 2010.

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