TESTS AND DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSING GALLBLADDER CANCER
Tests and procedures used to diagnose gallbladder cancer include:

  • Blood tests. Blood tests to evaluate your liver function may help your doctor determine what’s causing your signs and symptoms.
  • Procedures to create images of the gallbladder.Imaging tests that can create pictures of the gallbladder include ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

STAGES OF GALLBLADDER CANCER

The stages of gallbladder cancer are:

  • Stage I. At this stage, gallbladder cancer is confined to the inner layers of the gallbladder.
  • Stage II. This stage of gallbladder cancer has grown to invade the outer layer of the gallbladder and may extend beyond the gallbladder.
  • Stage III. At this stage, gallbladder cancer has grown to invade one or more nearby organs, such as the liver, small intestine or stomach. The gallbladder cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes.
  • Stage IV. The latest stage of gallbladder cancer includes large tumors that involve multiple nearby organs and tumors of any size that have spread to distant areas of the body.

TREATMENTS AND DRUGS

What gallbladder cancer treatment options are available to you depend on the stage of your cancer, your overall health and your preferences. The initial goal of treatment is to remove the gallbladder cancer, but when that isn’t possible, other therapies may help control the spread of the disease and keep you as comfortable as possible.

TREATMENTS FOR LATE-STAGE GALLBLADDER CANCER

Surgery can’t cure gallbladder cancer that has spread to other areas of the body. Instead, doctors use treatments that may relieve signs and symptoms of cancer and make you as comfortable as possible. Options may include:

  • Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells.
  • Radiation therapy. Radiation uses high-powered beams of energy, such as X-rays, to kill cancer cells.

 

PROCEDURES TO RELIEVE BLOCKED BILE DUCTS

Advanced gallbladder cancer can cause blockages in the bile ducts, causing further complications. Procedures to relieve the blockage may help. For instance, surgeons can place a hollow metal tube (stent) in a duct to hold it open or surgically reroute bile ducts around the blockage (biliary bypass).