Two types of gallbladder cancer classification

Primary gallbladder cancer is more common in women over 50 years old, and its incidence rate is relatively low in the whole tumor. Gallbladder cancer has no fixed name in traditional Chinese medicine. Doctors generally classify it into the categories of jaundice, flank pain, abdominal mass, asthenia, and lumps according to its main symptoms.

Gallbladder cancer can be divided into two types: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma is more common, accounting for about 71% to 90% of gallbladder cancer patients, while squamous cell carcinoma is less than 10%. Adenocarcinoma can be divided into the following types:

1. Papillary adenocarcinoma: It may be caused by the malignant transformation of papillary or polyp. The tumor grows into the gallbladder cavity, affecting the emptying of the gallbladder. There are ulcers on the surface of the tumor, which is easy to cause infection. If the tumor blocks the gallbladder neck, it can cause the gallbladder to swell and the gallbladder wall to thin, similar to gallbladder abscess or effusion.

2. Invasive adenocarcinoma: It is more common clinically, accounting for about 70% of adenocarcinomas. Cancer can cause the gallbladder to shrink and the gallbladder wall to become hard and thick.

3. Sclerosing adenocarcinoma: It may be accompanied by bile duct sclerosis, leading to obstruction in any part of the bile duct.

4. Mucinous adenocarcinoma: The tumor is soft and easily ruptured, leading to gallbladder perforation.

In addition, according to the depth of invasion of the gallbladder wall and the range of spread of the tumor, gallbladder cancer can be divided into the following stages of development:

Stage I: Cancerous tissue is limited to the mucosa, that is, carcinoma in situ.

Stage II: invasion into the muscular layer.

Stage III: Cancerous tissue invades the entire thickness of the gallbladder wall.

Stage IV: invasion of the entire gallbladder wall with metastasis to surrounding lymph nodes

Stage V: Direct invasion of the liver or metastasis to other organs or distant metastasis.