Gall Bladder Cancer – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Methods

Overview

As cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in a particular area or a region or a part of the body the gall bladder cancer as the name suggests is the malignancy of cells in the gall bladder tissues. This cancer is the most uncommon type.

The gall bladder is a pear-shaped organ that lies just under the liver in the upper abdomen.

The function of gall bladder is to store the bile, a fluid made by the liver. The bile duct is the tube that connects the gall bladder and liver to the first part of the small intestine. This bile duct releases the bile. Fat digestion is performed by the bile.

Though the exact cause of gall bladder is not known till date it is believed that the DNA in the cells of the biliary tract may be damaged by toxins that are routinely metabolized by the liver. The process involves the elimination of these from the body that are released into the bile.

But if bile empties more slowly than normal, it increases the amount of time the cells are exposed to cancer-causing substances (carcinogens). Thus the chance of developing the disease is more.

Surprisingly this disease is more common in women than in men. In people who have a condition which results in the formation of hard clusters in the gall bladder like the gallstones, gall bladder may be common in them. The high risk factor for gall bladder cancer is being female and at the same time being a Native American.

Gall Bladder Cancer Symptoms or Signs of Gall Bladder Cancer

The possible symptoms of gall bladder or the signs of gall bladder cancer include jaundice, pain, and fever. Other symptoms may be caused by this disease which may be much similar to other health problems are:

  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Bloating.
  • Lumps in the abdomen.

Gall Bladder Treatment

The gall bladder cancer treatment comprises of involvement of variety of treatment methods with many tumor types, management being a multidisciplinary approach.

The most affective and the only truly curative gall bladder cancer treatment is the total surgical removal of all known tumor. But the fact is that only about 25% of patients with gall bladder cancer are able to undergo a definitive gall bladder cancer treatment surgery unfortunately.

In some cases when though surgery is possible, the surgeon is usually unable to take very large resection margins around the tumor, meaning that gall bladder cancer cells still exist around the incision portion.

So in those situations gall bladder cancer treatment method used is the external beam radiation therapy to eradicate any microscopic gall bladder cancer remaining in the surgical area and surrounding at-risk regions.

The gall bladder cancer treatment method surgery should be performed by a well experienced surgeon in order prevent any operative injuries or further complications.