What are the symptoms of gallbladder cancer

For many people, gallbladder cancer is not a simple disease. Although medical conditions are better now, it still takes some time to cure a disease like gallbladder cancer. We need to have a deeper understanding of a disease like gallbladder cancer, so we will introduce to you the symptoms of gallbladder cancer below.

Gallbladder cancer has no specific clinical manifestations in the early stage, or only has symptoms of chronic cholecystitis, and early diagnosis is very difficult. Once persistent pain, mass, jaundice, etc. appear in the upper abdomen, the disease has reached the late stage, and various examinations also show abnormalities. Therefore, for patients with discomfort or pain in the gallbladder area, especially middle-aged and elderly patients over 50 years old with gallstones, inflammation, and polyps, regular B-ultrasound examinations should be performed to obtain an early and clear diagnosis.

1. Symptoms:

1. Right upper abdominal pain:

Most cases are persistent pain in the right upper abdomen, which may be aggravated paroxysmically and radiate to the right shoulder and waist and back. This symptom accounts for 84%. Since gallbladder cancer often coexists with gallbladder stones and inflammation, the pain is similar to that of calculous cholecystitis, starting with discomfort in the right upper abdomen, followed by persistent dull pain or dull pain, sometimes accompanied by paroxysmal severe pain and radiating to the right shoulder.

2. Digestive tract symptoms:

The vast majority (90%) experience indigestion, aversion to greasy food, belching, and decreased appetite, which is due to the gallbladder's inability to digest fat. Nausea and vomiting are also quite common, and there is often a loss of appetite.

3. Jaundice:

Due to the spread of cancer, about 1/3 to 1/2 of patients develop jaundice. Jaundice is the first symptom in a few patients, and most jaundice occurs after pain. Jaundice is persistent and progressive, and a few patients show intermittent jaundice. Jaundice often appears in the late stage of the disease, accounting for 36.5%, mostly due to cancer tissue invading the bile duct and causing malignant obstruction. It is also accompanied by weight loss, fatigue, and even cachexia, yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes, and difficult-to-treat skin itching.

4. Chills and fever:

It often occurs in the late stage of cancer. 25.9% of patients experience fever, and the high fever may persist.

5. Lump in the right upper abdomen:

When the disease develops to the late stage, a mass appears in the right upper abdomen or upper abdomen, accounting for 54.9%. One is that the tumor grows rapidly, blocking the bile duct and causing the gallbladder to swell; the other is that it invades the duodenum and causes obstruction symptoms; in addition, if it invades the liver, stomach, pancreas, etc., masses may also appear in the corresponding parts.

Gallbladder cancer may be rare for all of us, but we must recognize that the disease may happen to us at any time. Only if we have a good understanding of gallbladder cancer can we prevent this disease. Only in this way can we live a better life.