Gallbladder Cancer Treatment Options & Surgical Removal

The gall bladder is a small organ that is used to store a digestive fluid from the liver called bile. Gall bladder cancer often has no symptoms. Treatments for gall bladder cancer are most effective in the early stages of the disease.

Gall Bladder Removal

• According to the Mayo Clinic, patients with cancer that is limited to the gall bladder may have their gall bladder surgically removed.

Gall Bladder and Liver

• Surgery may be used to remove the gall bladder, nearby bile ducts and portions of the liver in patients whose gall bladder cancer has spread to the liver.

Chemotherapy

• Patients with advanced gall bladder cancer that has spread to other parts of the body may need chemotherapy drug treatment that kills cancer cells.

Radiation Therapy

• Powerful energy beams may be used in radiation treatment to kill cancer cells.

Bile Duct Procedures

• Bile duct blockages can occur in gall bladder cancer patients that may be surgically treated with the placement of a stent in a blocked bile duct or with a surgical rerouting of bile around a blocked duct.