Gallbladder Cancer (cont.)
Certain factors affect the prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment
options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the
following:
- The stage of the cancer (whether the cancer has spread from the gallbladder
to other places in the body).
- Whether the cancer can be completely removed by
surgery.
- The type of gallbladder cancer (how the cancer cell looks under a
microscope).
- Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred (come
back).
Treatment may also depend on the age and general health of the patient
and whether the cancer is causing symptoms.
Gallbladder cancer can be cured only if it is found before it has spread,
when it can be removed by surgery. If the cancer has spread, palliative
treatment can improve the patient's quality of life by controlling the symptoms
and complications of this disease.
Taking part in one of the clinical trials being done to improve treatment
should be considered. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available
from the NCI Web site.
Stages of Gallbladder Cancer
Tests and procedures to stage gallbladder cancer are usually done at the same
time as diagnosis.
See the General Information section for a description of tests and procedures
used to detect, diagnose, and stage gallbladder cancer.
The following stages are used for gallbladder cancer:
Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)
In stage 0, abnormal cells are found in the innermost (mucosal) layer of the
gallbladder. These abnormal cells may become cancer and spread into nearby
normal tissue. Stage 0 is also called carcinoma in situ.
Stage I
In stage I, cancer has formed. Stage I is divided into stage IA and stage IB.
- Stage IA: Cancer has spread beyond the innermost (mucosal) layer to the
connective tissue or to the muscle (muscularis) layer.
- Stage IB: Cancer has
spread beyond the muscle layer to the connective tissue around the muscle.
Stage
II
Stage II is divided into stage IIA and stage IIB.
- Stage IIA: Cancer has spread beyond the visceral peritoneum (tissue that
covers the gallbladder) and/or to the liver and/or one nearby organ (such as the
stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, or bile ducts outside the liver).
- Stage IIB: Cancer has spread:
- beyond the innermost layer to the connective
tissue and to nearby lymph nodes; or
- to the muscle layer and nearby lymph nodes; or
- beyond the muscle layer to the connective tissue around the muscle and to
nearby lymph nodes; or
- through the visceral peritoneum (tissue that covers the
gallbladder) and/or to the liver and/or to one nearby organ (such as the
stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, or bile ducts outside the liver), and
to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage III
In stage III, cancer has spread to a main blood vessel in the liver or to
nearby organs and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage IV
In stage IV, cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and/or to organs far
away from the gallbladder.
For gallbladder cancer, stages are also grouped according to how the cancer
may be treated. There are two treatment groups:
Localized (Stage I)
Cancer is found in the wall of the gallbladder and can be completely removed
by surgery.
Unresectable (Stage II, Stage III, and Stage IV)
Cancer has spread through the wall of the gallbladder to surrounding tissues
or organs or throughout the abdominal cavity. Except in patients whose cancer
has spread only to lymph nodes, the cancer is unresectable (cannot be completely
removed by surgery).
Recurrent Gallbladder Cancer
Recurrent gallbladder cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it
has been treated. The cancer may come back in the gallbladder or in other parts
of the body.
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