- Symptoms of gallbladder cancer
- Treatment for gallbladder cancer
- Diagnosis of gallbladder cancer
- Gallbladder cancer staging
Gallbladder cancer is a rare and serious problem that affects the gallbladder, a small organ in the gastrointestinal tract that stores bile, releasing it during digestion.
Usually, gallbladder cancer does not cause any symptoms and, therefore, in many cases, it is diagnosed in very advanced stages, when it has already affected other organs such as the liver.
Gall bladder cancer is curable when its treatment is started early with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy to eliminate all tumor cells and prevent their spread to other organs.
Chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy are aggressive and can lead to hair loss. See: How to make hair grow faster after chemotherapy.
Symptoms of gallbladder cancer
The main symptoms of gallbladder cancer include:
- Persistent abdominal pain in the right side of the belly; Belly swelling; Frequent nausea and vomiting; Yellow skin and eyes; Decreased appetite and weight loss; Fever above 38ºC persistent.
However, these symptoms are rare and when the cancer appears it is already at a very advanced stage, being more difficult to treat.
Thus, patients with overweight, history of gall bladder stones or other frequent problems in the organ, should undergo tests every 2 years at the gastroenterologist to detect the development of cancer, as they are at greater risk for the disease.
Treatment for gallbladder cancer
The treatment for gallbladder cancer can be done at institutes dedicated to the treatment of cancers, such as INCA and, usually, it varies according to the type and stage of cancer development, and can be done with surgery to remove the gallbladder, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, for example.
However, not all cases are curable and, therefore, palliative care can also be used to relieve the patient's symptoms and improve the quality of life until the end of life.
Find out more about treatment at: Treatment for gallbladder cancer.
Diagnosis of gallbladder cancer
The diagnosis of gallbladder cancer is usually made by a gastroenterologist who uses some diagnostic tests, such as ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging to identify the development of gallbladder cancer.
In addition, CA 19-9 and CA-125 blood tests can also be used to identify tumor markers, which are substances produced by the body in cases of gallbladder cancer.
However, most cases of gallbladder cancer continue to be identified in preparation for gallbladder removal or even during surgery.
Gallbladder cancer staging
Gallbladder cancer is staged by biopsy of a gallbladder sample taken during surgery and the results may include:
- Stage I: the cancer is limited to the inner layers of the gallbladder; Stage II: the tumor affects all layers of the gallbladder and can develop into the bile ducts; Stage III: cancer affects the gallbladder and one or more neighboring organs, such as the liver, small intestine or stomach; Stage IV: development of large tumors in the gallbladder and in various organs in more distant locations of the body.
The more advanced the stage of development of gallbladder cancer is, the more complicated the treatment is, the more difficult it is to achieve complete cure of the problem.
