Principles of treatment of gallbladder cancer

Because gallbladder cancer is rare and its symptoms mirror those of the most common biliary tract symptoms, it is often not detected until it is advanced and cannot be surgically removed. At this stage, relieving pain and restoring normal bile drainage from the liver to the small intestine are the basic principles of treatment.

Treatment of gallbladder cancer: Gallbladder cancer is mainly treated with surgery, but the cure rate is less than 30%. Most patients are already in the late stage when the disease is discovered and have lost the opportunity for surgery.

The goal of diagnosis is to determine whether the cancer can be completely removed, which is unlikely because the cancer has usually spread to local areas early in the course of the disease. More effective chemotherapy and radiation therapy than currently used are being studied, and these treatments are occasionally useful in relieving cancer-related symptoms. Although the prognosis for people with advanced gallbladder cancer is poor, steps can be taken to maintain the patient's quality of life.

1. Surgery

Surgery is the only potentially curative treatment, and if the cancer has not spread far away, it can remove the gallbladder, draining lymph nodes, and a margin of normal liver tissue underneath. This may cure the patient and can help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

2. Chemotherapy

Studies have shown that chemotherapy still cannot prolong the survival of patients with gallbladder cancer. The standard drugs used are 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin, which can cause tumor shrinkage in 20% to 25% of patients. However, as the tumor shrinks, the patient may be in a worse condition in the future because the tumor usually grows again quickly, and the treatment has some side effects.