The gall bladder is a pear shaped sac which collects bile and releases into intestines to help in digestion of food, by the bile duct. When cancer arises from tissue or cell layers of this organ it is called as gall bladder cancer.
The risk factors for gall bladder cancer are
- Choledochal cyst
- Female sex
- Obesity
- Polyps in Gall bladder
- Porcelain gall bladder
- Smoking
The symptoms of gall bladder cancer are
- Abdomen distention
- Bloating
- Fever
- Jaundice
- Lump in abdomen
- Pain abdomen
The stages of gall bladder cancer are
- Stage 0
- Stage I
- Stage II
- Stage III
- Stage IV
The disease is localized to gall baldder in stage 1, locally invasive in stage 2 & 3 and advanced in stage 4 disease.
The treatment modalities involved are
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation
Surgical treatment of cancer in gall bladder involves removal of gall bladder, removal of a cuff of liver tissue and the regional lymph nodes, as curative surgery. Palliative treatment in advanced stages can be by bypassing bile to intestines surgically or endoscopically, or by radiology guided transhepatic route.